Lillehammer, Norway - October 9, 2016 - Four recent USA Luge Olympians, led by Sochi bronze medalist Erin Hamlin, grabbed three gold medals and two silvers on Sunday in the pre-season Lillehammer Cup.
Hamlin, also the 2009 World Champion, as well as the doubles team of Matt Mortensen and Jayson Terdiman, won their discipline races, while Tucker West and Raychel Germaine took silver medals. Hamlin, West and Mortensen-Terdiman combined for the victory in the team competition.
“Today was treated just like any other session this week, except that we weren't just sliding with our teammates,” said Terdiman at the conclusion of a 32-run week. “Matt and I continued to focus on our starts and making the runs smooth. Our first start was another personal best for us, and both runs were up to par with how training had been going all week.
“Neither of us woke up this morning expecting to win this race. We just wanted to be able to compete with (Peter) Penz/(Georg) Fischler and (Christian) Oberstolz/(Patrick) Gruber, both just ahead of us last year in the overall World Cup. We were very pleased with the run times, and happy to come out on top today. Now we want to keep this momentum going into the Norton National Championships and the team selection races, heading into the World Cup season.”
Added Mortensen, “I am really happy with our result today. We had great training this week and the race was no different. We had two good runs, with two fast starts. Jayson and I worked really hard this summer to better our start, and it visibly paid off in the Lillehammer Cup. We had a personal record on both the start and the run time. It is great to know that all the hard work we put in this summer paid off. From here forward we need to keep this momentum and bring it to the World Cup tour. We are both hoping to get some medals with a full international field this year.”
The event ended a week of training on the 1994 Olympic track for many of the nations who compete under the banner of the International Luge Federation (FIL).
Hamlin, of Remsen, N.Y., has medaled in Lillehammer in World Cup and Challenge Cup events. She turned back Raychel Germaine, of Roswell, Ga., by 0.35 of a second. The winner’s runs, the fastest of both heats, totaled 1 minute, 36.437 seconds.
“It was fun. We definitely treated it as a ‘warmup’ race for the World Cup season but it felt good to get into a bit of a race mode so soon,” said Hamlin. “It was a really busy week and the team, as a whole, slid really well. It was probably the best first week that I can think of, as far as sliding level and quality.
“My runs today weren’t the best I’ve had here. I hit at the start first run and again lower down the track so that was probably one of my worst all week, actually. Second run was decent, but I was for sure feeling the busy week this morning. I’m happy to see there is a lot of speed there and to see the strength of the team as whole as well. We’re excited to get to World Cup racing.”
Germaine, in her first race after shoulder surgery last spring, came from third place after one run to place second in 1:36.792.
Emily Sweeney, of Suffield, Conn., has been sliding this week after recent wrist surgery that prevented her from using her usual quick start. Sweeney showed her driving skills by sliding into second place in the first leg, 0.1 of a second behind Hamlin. Sweeney wound up fifth. Germaine took advantage by posting the second best second heat.
“This week was all about getting back into the flow of things for me,” said Germaine. “Today's race went fairly well. First run I had some skidding up in the labyrinth. Second run was much better. After this long week of training I was very happy to end with a second place at this fun race.”
Norway’s Vilde Tangnes placed third, followed by Park City, Utah’s Brittney Arndt in fourth place. The rising USA Luge Junior National Team member was 0.08 from the podium.
Grace Weinberg, of Pittsfield, Vt., another Junior National Team athlete, was ninth overall, highlighted by the best second heat start time.
Summer Britcher, a Sochi Olympian from Glen Rock, Pa., used the exhibition race to get some speed training, according the assistant coach Bill Tavares, and entered the men’s singles competition.
Entering their third season together, Mortensen, of Huntington Station, N.Y., and Terdiman, of Berwick, Pa., both members of the 2014 Olympic team on different sleds, showed improving starts and high speed down the course. They defeated Austrians Peter Penz and Georg Fischler, with compatriots Thomas Steu and Lorenz Koller third. A pair of Italian sleds, including Christian Oberstolz and Patrick Gruber took fourth and fifth, respectively.
The Americans grabbed a slim 0.01 of a second advantage over Penz-Fischler into the final run, and stretched it to a 0.14 victory. Mortensen and Terdiman, fifth in last year’s World Cup standings, totaled 1:35.842. Penz-Fischler, third in the World Cup last year with eight medals, clocked 1:35.990. The Austrian duo was also in contention for a 2014 Olympic medal.
Jake Hyrns, of Muskegon, Mich., and Anthony Espinoza, of Park City, winners of last month’s USA Luge Indoor Start Championship, showed their explosiveness at the handles with top four start times in each run. The second year team was headed to the best time of the final run, before dropping off the pace and settling for ninth place.
In a battle of the split times with West, Wolfgang Kindl, of Austria, emerged the victor by almost 0.3 of a second. Kindl, second ranked in the 2015-2016 World Cup, pulled away from West in both heats at the bottom of the Lillehammer layout.
The two shared the Lake Placid World Cup podium last December when the Ridgefield, Conn. racer took the silver medal behind teammate Chris Mazdzer, with Kindl third.
The Austrian collected Sunday’s title in a combined 1:39.043. West, another member of the Sochi team, recorded 1:39.333. He had start rankings of second and first in his two heats.
“The race went pretty well today,” remarked West. “I had a few issues on my second run, but it was nothing too crazy. The Lillehammer Cup is a great way to shake out the cobwebs from the off season, and an even better way to get excited for the upcoming season. There's still a lot to be done before the World Cups begin, but I'm happy with where I'm at right now. Over the next few weeks I'll be perfecting my sliding equipment and getting comfortable on three of the North American tracks. Hopefully we can continue our forward momentum and have an even better year than last year.”
Mazdzer, the two-time Olympian from Saranac Lake, N.Y., a career best third overall in World Cup racing last year, was fifth in 1:39.906.
Taylor Morris, of South Jordan, Utah, was ninth, with Junior National Team racer Jonny Gustafson, of Massena, N.Y., 10th. Gustafson’s start times were third ranked in each run.
Britcher, in a field of 25 men, was 18th. She was fifth in the women’s World Cup standings last season.
The U.S. contingent now returns to Lake Placid and will await the opening of the course on Mount Van Hoevenberg. Icing of the venue started recently, and temperatures are expected to drop into the 20s Sunday and Monday nights. A mid-October track debut is anticipated, weather permitting.
For more information on the Fastest Sport on Ice®, log on to www.usaluge.org