FIL World Luge Championships 2009 - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The FIL World Luge Championships 2009 ran on 1–8 February 2009 at the bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track

Lake Placid bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track

The Mt. Van Hoevenberg Olympic Bobsled Run. is a venue for bobsleigh, luge and skeleton located in Lake Placid, New York, United States. This venue was used for the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics and for the only winter Goodwill Games in 2000...

in Lake Placid, New York

Lake Placid, New York

Lake Placid is a village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, United States. As of the 2000 census, the village had a population of 2,638....

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

for the second time after having hosted the event in 1983

FIL World Luge Championships 1983

The FIL World Luge Championships 1983 took place in Lake Placid, New York, United States. It marked the first time that the championships took place outside of Europe.-Men's singles:...

. They were awarded the event at the 2006 FIL Congress in Berchtesgaden

Berchtesgaden

Berchtesgaden is a municipality in the German Bavarian Alps. It is located in the south district of Berchtesgadener Land in Bavaria, near the border with Austria, some 30 km south of Salzburg and 180 km southeast of Munich...

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

Event preparations

In a September 17, 2008 interview with FIL, FIL Vice President for Sport Claire DelNegro stated that preparations proceeding well. DelNegro, a former director of the United States Bobsled and Skeleton Federation

United States Bobsled and Skeleton Federation

The United States Bobsled & Skeleton Federation is the official national governing body for bobsled and skeleton in the United States...

(headquartered in Lake Placid), stated that she hoped that "...these championships will be a real challenge for all participating nations." A "Scholastic Sliding Challenge" (SSC) organized by the Olympic Regional Development Authority

Olympic Regional Development Authority

The Olympic Regional Development Authority is a New York State public benefit corporations, created by the State of New York to manage the facilities used during the 1980 Olympic Winter Games at Lake Placid, New York...

, the Lake Placid bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track

Lake Placid bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track

operating authority, and included 22 schools in the Lake Placid area. This program was a continuation of a program that was started at the 2007 World Championships

FIL World Luge Championships 2007

The FIL World Luge Championships 2007 took place February 2-4, 2007 at the bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track in Igls, Austria for the fourth time after having hosted the event in 1977, 1987, and 1997.-Men's singles:-Women's singles:...

in Igls, Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

that continued at last year's world Championships

FIL World Luge Championships 2008

The FIL World Luge Championships 2008 took place January 21-27, 2008 at the bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track in Oberhof, Germany for the third time after having hosted the event in 1973 and 1985. The relay competition took the place of the team event that had been held at every world...

in Oberhof, Germany

Oberhof, Germany

Oberhof is a town in the Schmalkalden-Meiningen district of Thuringia, Germany. It is a winter sports center and health resort. It is visited by tenfold as many tourists every year...

. It was also used for the upcoming FIBT World Championships

FIBT World Championships 2009

The FIBT World Championships 2009, officially known as the Bauhaus FIBT Bobsleigh & Skeleton World Championships, 20 February to 1 March 2009 at the bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track in Lake Placid, New York for the ninth time, doing so previously in 1949, 1961, 1969, 1973, 1978, 1983, 1997 , and...

held later in February 2009 on the same track. The track

Lake Placid bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track

was iced down on October 6, 2008, the earliest it has ever been iced in preparation for both the FIBT and FIL championships. Opening ceremonies took place on 6 February 2009.

Television coverage

Television coverage was provided by the German

Germany

public TV station ARD

ARD (broadcaster)

ARD is a joint organization of Germany's regional public-service broadcasters...

as part of their shows on the 7th and the 8th. Eurosport

Eurosport

Eurosport is a pan-European television sport network operated by French broadcaster TF1 Group. The network of channels are available in 59 countries, in 20 different languages providing viewers with European and international sporting events...

provided live coverage both of the women's singles event on the 6th and of the men's singles on the 7th. Coverage was seen in the United States and Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

on demand with Universal Sports

Universal Sports

Universal Sports is an American television network that airs various sports, primarily those contested in the Olympic Games, including swimming, gymnastics, cycling, track and field, figure skating, skiing, bobsledding and triathlon.-Programming:...

Participating countries

As of 21 November 2008, 21 countries agreed to participate in the event. These included the host United States, Germany

Germany

, Austria

Austria

, Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

, Czech Republic

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

, Moldova

Moldova

Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, Romania

Romania

Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

, Norway

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

, and Venezuela

Venezuela

Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

Luge World Cup leaders

As of 2 February 2009, the leaders of the 2008-09 Luge World Cup were as follows:

Discipline	Leader	Second	Third
Men's singles
Women's singles
Men's doubles	(Christian Oberstolz Christian Oberstolz Christian Oberstolz is an Italian luger who has competed since 1997. He won four medals at the FIL World Luge Championships with two silvers and two bronzes .At the FIL European Luge Championships, Oberstolz won five medals with one gold , three... & Patrick Gruber Patrick Gruber Patrick Gruber is an Italian luger who has competed since 1997. He won four medals at the FIL World Luge Championships with two silvers and two bronzes .At the FIL European Luge Championships, Gruber won five medals with one gold Patrick Gruber (born January 31, 1978 in Bruneck) is an Italian... )	(Patric Leitner Patric Leitner Patric-Fritz Leitner is a German luger who competed from 1998 to 2010. Together with Alexander Resch he won the men's doubles event at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, United States. They also competed at the 2006 Winter Olympics, finishing sixth... & Alexander Resch Alexander Resch Alexander Resch is a German luger who competed from 1998 to 2010. Together with Patric Leitner, he won the men's doubles event at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, United States. They also competed at the 2006 Winter Olympics, finishing sixth... )	(Andreas Linger Andreas Linger Andreas Linger is an Austrian luger who has competed internationally since 2000. He and his younger brother Wolfgang began luging at a very young age, and did their first doubles run when they were 14... & Wolfgang Linger Wolfgang Linger Wolfgang Linger is an Austrian luger who has competed internationally since 2000. As young children, he and his older brother Andreas learned to luge on a former Olympic luge track, and at age 14 began competing as a doubles team for the first time... )
Team relay

Jury and technical delegates

The jury was chaired by Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

's Joseph Benz

Joseph Benz

Joseph "Josef or Sepp" Benz is a Swiss bobsledder who competed from the mid 1970s to the early 1980s...

with other members being America

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

's John Mowry and Austria

Austria

's Markus Schmidt

Markus Schmidt (luge)

Markus Schmidt is an Austrian luger who competed between 1987 and 1997. Competing in two Winter Olympics, he earned a bronze medal in the men's singles event at Albertville in 1992....

. Technical delegates were headed by Latvia

Latvia

Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...

's Einars Fogelis with other members being Slovakia

Slovakia

The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...

's Walter Marx

Walter Marx

Walter Marx is a Slovakian luger who competed from 1993 to 2006. Competing in two Winter Olympics, he earned his best finish of ninth in the men's doubles event at Salt Lake City in 2002....

and Norway

Norway

's Bjoern Drydahl.

Men's singles

7 February 2009. Run 1 took place 12:15 - 13:55 North American EST (17:15 - 18:55 UTC

Coordinated Universal Time

Coordinated Universal Time is the primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time. It is one of several closely related successors to Greenwich Mean Time. Computer servers, online services and other entities that rely on having a universally accepted time use UTC for that purpose...

) while Run 2 took place 14:30 - 15:25 EST (19:30 - 20:25 UTC).

Medal	Athlete	Time
Gold		1:44.336
Silver		+0.213
Bronze		+0.701

Loch repeats as world champion, setting the track record on the first run. Pfister earned his first individual medal at the championships.

Women's singles

6 February 2009. Run 1 took place 13:00 - 14:20 EST (18:00 - 19:20 UTC) while Run 2 took place 14:45 - 15:30 EST (19:45 - 20:30 UTC).

Medal	Athlete	Time
Gold		1:28.098
Silver		+0.187
Bronze		+0.236

Hamlin set the track record in the second run to become the first non-European and the first American to medal in the women's singles luge event at the Winter Olympic or world championship level. Yakushenko is the first Ukrainian to medal at the championships. Two-time defending world champion Tatjana Hüfner

Tatjana Hüfner

Tatjana Hüfner is a German luger who is the current Olympic Champion and has competed since 2003. She won the bronze medal in the women's singles at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin...

of Germany

Germany

finished sixth despite setting the start record during the second run. This was the first time a German did not win this event at a World Cup, Winter Olympic, world championship, or European championships since 1997 and the first time in the Winter Olympics, world, or European level since Italy

Italy

's Gerda Weissensteiner

Gerda Weissensteiner

Gerda Weissensteiner is an Italian luger and bobsleigh pilot who has competed from the late 1980s to 2006...

won the women's singles gold medal at the 1994 Winter Olympics

1994 Winter Olympics

The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 12 to 27 February 1994 in and around Lillehammer, Norway. Lillehammer failed to win the bid for the 1992 event. Lillehammer was awarded the games in 1988, after having beat...

in Lillehammer

Lillehammer

is a town and municipality in Oppland county, Norway, globally known for hosting the 1994 Winter Olympics. It is part of the traditional region of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. As of May 2011, the population of the town of Lillehammer was...

Doubles

6 February 2009. Run 1 took place 10:00 - 10:50 EST (15:00 - 15:50 UTC) while Run 2 will take place 11:20 - 11:55 EST (16:20 - 16:55 UTC).

Medal	Athlete	Time
Gold	(Gerhard Plankensteiner Gerhard Plankensteiner Gerhard Plankensteiner is an Italian national of Austrian descent luger who competed from 1986 to 2010... , Oswald Haselrieder Oswald Haselrieder Oswald Haselrieder is an Italian national of Austrian descent luger who competed from 1990 to 2010... )	1:27.401
Silver	(André Florschütz André Florschütz André Florschütz is a German luger who competed from 1993 to 2010. Together with Torsten Wustlich, he won the silver medal in the men's doubles event at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin.... , Torsten Wustlich Torsten Wustlich Torsten Wustlich is a German luger who competed from 1998 to 2010. Together with André Florschütz, he won the silver medal in the men's doubles event at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin.... )	+0.057
Bronze	(Mark Grimmette Mark Grimmette (luge) Mark Grimmette is an American luger who competed from 1990 to 2010. Competing in five Winter Olympics, he won two medals in the men's doubles event with a silver in 2002 and a bronze in 1998.... , Brian Martin Brian Martin (luger) Brian Martin is an American luger who competed from 1990 to 2010. Competing in four Winter Olympics, he won two medals in the men's doubles event with a silver in 2002 and a bronze in 1998.... )	+0.210

The Italians won their first ever championships. Florschütz and Wustlich only trailed Plankensteiner and Haselrieder by 0.008 seconds after the first run. Martin and Grimette won their fifth doubles bronze medal.

Mixed team relay

8 February 2009 from 11:00 to 12:00 EST (16:00 to 17:00 UTC).

Medal	Team	Time
Gold	(Felix Loch Felix Loch Felix Loch is a German luger and Olympic champion. He has been competing since 1995 and has been on the German national team since 2006. He won five medals at the FIL World Luge Championships with four golds and one silver... , Natalie Geisenberger Natalie Geisenberger Natalie Geisenberger is a German luger. She won a bronze medal in the women's singles event at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.... , André Florschütz André Florschütz André Florschütz is a German luger who competed from 1993 to 2010. Together with Torsten Wustlich, he won the silver medal in the men's doubles event at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin.... , Torsten Wustlich Torsten Wustlich Torsten Wustlich is a German luger who competed from 1998 to 2010. Together with André Florschütz, he won the silver medal in the men's doubles event at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin.... )	2:39.630
Silver	(Daniel Pfister Daniel Pfister Daniel Pfister is an Austrian luger who has competed since 2003. He won three medals at the FIL World Luge Championships with a silver Daniel Pfister (born December 7, 1986 in Schwaz) is an Austrian luger who has competed since 2003. He won three medals at the FIL World Luge Championships with a... , Nina Reithmeyer, Peter Penz Peter Penz Peter Penz is an Austrian luger who has competed since 2003. He won two medals in the mixed team event at the FIL World Luge Championships with a silver in 2009 and a bronze in 2007... , Georg Fischler Georg Fischler Georg Fischler is an Austrian luger who has competed since 2003. He won two medals in the mixed team event at the FIL World Luge Championships with a silver in 2009 and a bronze in FIL World Luge Championships 2007\|2007]]... )	+1.510
Bronze	(Guntis Rēķis Guntis Rekis Guntis Rēķis is a Latvian luger who has competed since 1997. He won two bronze medals in the mixed team event at the FIL World Luge Championships, earning them in 2008 and 2009.... , Maija Tīruma Maija Tiruma Maija Tīruma is a Latvian luger who has competed since the 2000.She won two bronze medals in the mixed team relay event at the FIL World Luge Championships .... , Andris Šics Andris Šics Andris Šics is a Latvian luger who has competed since 1998. Competing in two Winter Olympics, he won a silver medal in the men's doubles event at Vancouver in 2010 alongside his teammate, older brother Juris Šics.... , Juris Šics Juris Šics Juris Šics is a Latvian luger who has competed since 1998. Competing in two Winter Olympics, he won a silver medal in the men's doubles event at Vancouver in 2010 alongside his teammate, younger brother Andris Šics.... )	+2.869

Loch won his second gold of the championships.

Medal table

1	2	2	0	4
2	1	1	0	2
3	1	0	1	2
4	0	1	1	2
5	0	0	1	1
6	0	0	1	1

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