Game time: World Cup luge opening weekend is upon us
Five Vancouver Olympians in US Luge line-up
Julia Clukey (foreground), Ashley Walden and Preston Griffall check out the track in Igls, Austria
IGLS, Austria – The 2010-2011 edition of the United States Luge Team, with five Vancouver Olympians on the ice and a sixth heading the coaching staff, arrived Monday at this tony winter retreat ready to begin the new World Cup luge season.
Igls, Austria, just a few minutes outside 1964 and 1976 Winter Olympic host Innsbruck, is the site of the first of nine World Cup luge events. In addition to its combined luge, bobsled and skeleton track, the hills above the track were the site of Franz Klammer's near-calamitous downhill race to 1976 Olympic glory as his fellow countrymen cheered deliriously.
The site will also host competitions in the 2012 Youth Olympic Winter Games.
The World Cup luge slate includes four competitions in November and December prior to the Christmas holidays. The remaining five, and the World Championships in Italy, are set for January and February.
The last major international races for the U.S. occurred at Whistler last February, where the team's best Olympic effort came from the doubles sled of Christian Niccum, of Woodinville, Wash., and Dan Joye, of Carmel, N.Y., taking sixth place. Niccum, the front driver, returns, but has Jayson Terdiman, from Berwick, Pa., manning the back of the sled.
With a gaggle of retirements in the doubles field, this discipline appears to be wide open for podium finishes throughout the winter.
"As people have retired I've gotten older," quipped Niccum, who had back surgery at the D.I.S.C. Sports and Spine Center in Marina Del Rey, Calif., in the off-season. "Older hopefully means more experienced. I have more experience against younger sleds and have learned from the mistakes of the past."
Added Terdiman, "We have bonded well after Christian got his back work in July and our training has been solid. We trust each other on the sled."
Jayson Terdiman, who took the photos in
this article, relaxing in his Igls hotel room. Thanks Jayson!
Tony Benshoof, of White Bear Lake, Minn., was the top singles performer at Whistler, finishing eighth. Benshoof, however, is still home attending to his ailing mother and has taken leave from the national team.
Whistler teammate Chris Mazdzer, Saranac Lake, N.Y., secured his best international result with a 13th place at the Winter Olympics and has gotten stronger during the off-season.
"When I was at the Olympics, I realized that you are not there to compete. You are there to win," said Mazdzer. "I was just happy to be there, but now I want to take these next four years to be even better. You think about that and it would keep anyone motivated."
Germany remains the team to beat, led by 2010 Olympic champion Felix Loch and silver medalist David Moeller. But individually, Armin Zoeggeler of Italy is on a mission: at 49 World Cup race victories, just one more will tie all-time leader Markus Prock of Austria. The Italian has nine overall tour titles in a career that also includes five world championships and five Olympic medals.
From the women's standpoint, Erin Hamlin, of Remsen, N.Y., 2006 and 2010 Olympian and 2009 World Champion, has been a consistent singles performer throughout the pre-season in Lake Placid and Cesana, Italy.
"We've only been here (Europe) about a week or so and it's hard to tell where I stack up," stated Hamlin. "But things feel really good after training in Lake Placid. I'm really excited to get racing and pick up the pace. It's hard to say how the races will go, but I'm glad to be here."
Hamlin's 2010 Olympic teammate, Julia Clukey, of Augusta, Maine, will attempt to convert one of the world's fastest starts into high finishes.
Hamlin, Clukey and the rest of the field will have their hands full trying to stop the German juggernaut which has not lost a World Cup race since 1997. February's Olympic gold medal winner, Tatyana Huefner, and bronze medalist, Natalie Geissenberger, will benefit from having four of the nine races on German tracks.
The U.S. competitors will be guided by an entirely new coaching staff, with a collective nine Winter Olympics on their resumes.
Mark Grimmette, of Muskegon, Mich. and Lake Placid, a five-time Olympian with silver and bronze medals and the title of 2010 U.S. flagbearer in Vancouver, retired in the spring and is the team's new Sport Program Director.
Mark Grimmette, left, shows Preston Griffall, Ashley Walden and Emily Sweeney how to drive the doubles and women's start curve
Duncan Kennedy, a veteran of three Olympic teams and a former junior team coach from Lake Placid, moves to World Cup assistant as does 1992 Olympian Bill Tavares, also of Lake Placid. Tavares returns to his roots after coaching the U.S. women's bobsled team.
Beginning Oct. 15, the Americans spent four weeks on ice at their Lake Placid home track before going to Cesana for five days of training last week on the World Championship course. There will be three days of training in Igls before the World Cup begins Saturday.
The women and doubles races are set for Saturday, with men and team relay events on tap for Sunday. The eyes of the International Olympic Committee will be on the relays this season as the IOC is contemplating the addition of the event to the 2014 Winter Olympic program in Sochi, Russia.
Thereafter, the U.S. sliders will depart Igls for Winterberg, Germany and the second World Cup weekend. In between, the team will collaborate with the USO and visit American military families and schools at the Kaiserslautern Military Command in Ramstein, Germany on Nov. 29.
Listen to audio from the latest team press conference
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Athlete interview videos!
What are the National Team athletes expecting from the upcoming World Cup season? Find out from:
Julia Clukey
Ashley Walden
Emily Sweeney
Christian Niccum and Jayson Terdiman
Matt Mortensen and Preston Griffall
Trent Matheson
Joe Mortensen
1972 Luge Olympian Named to the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame
Jack Elder in 1972 at the Olympic Games and Jack Elder today with his plaque from the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame
Jack Elder, member of the 1972 Olympic Luge Team in Sapporo, Japan, was recently inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame. Jack and his teammate Frances Jones raced to a 15th place finish during the Games. USA Luge congratulates Jack for this honor.
Team Worldwide Baltimore Provides World Champion Service
1993 World Champ Wendel Suckow a part of Team BWI
The staff at Team Worldwide Baltimore
Team Worldwide Baltimore (BWI) is proud to provide sponsorship to USA Luge. Team BWI is coming on strong in 2010 and gaining momentum for 2011. Their staff consists of owners Phil & Lisa Lehner, Ops Manager Jim Baird, AM Operations Melvin Faulkner and Outbound Ops Manager Rich Hanson. Their Sales Manager is three-time Olympian and 1993 World Champion, Wendel Suckow.
"I feel fortunate to have experienced both sides of the sponsor-athlete relationship," said Suckow. "I now have a unique opportunity to inform our customers not only about luge but how they are also supporting the dream of our luge athletes with Team."
For more information on Team BWI, call 410 636 7970
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