Germans sweep doubles medals at Luge World Cup in Whistler
Canadians Tristan Walker, Justin Snith finish 5th
German luger Toni Eggert is back on top of the podium less than seven weeks after breaking his leg in a training accident.
Eggert and his doubles partner Sascha Benecken took gold at the latest luge World Cup stop in Whistler, B.C., on Friday with a combined two-run time of one minute and 16.691 seconds.
Eggert said winning so soon after the accident was special, and he attributed his climb back to the track to good rehab. He added was able to get around with a walking cast just three weeks after he was injured.
German teams swept the doubles medals on Friday, with Robin Johannes Gueke and David Gamm coming in second and Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt winning the bronze.
Watch Eggert, Benecken headline German podium sweep
Wendl and Arlt also shattered the track record with a 38.292-second run. The previous record was 38.542, set in February 2013.
Canadians disappointed
Canadians Tristan Walker and Justin Snith took fifth place with a combined time of 1:16.875.
Finishing off the podium was "a little disappointing," Walker said, but he noted that the team is still looking to adjust to some new equipment.
At the first World Cup event of the season in Austria last week, the Canadians placed 12th. Walker said the adjustments they made in Whistler were a little bit too conservative, costing them time in their first run.
"We're trying to find a balance. We kind of went too far the opposite way on our equipment set up than we were last week," he said.
The three-time Olympian said this season is about finding the best way to work with their new set up.
"It's a long ways away from an Olympics, so it's not too much of a worry right now," he said.
The Canadian pair said they were happy to be competing on home soil.
The Whistler event is the second stop on this year's World Cup tour, and will continue Friday evening and on Saturday.
Kindl takes men's gold
On the men's side, Austria's Wolfgang Kindl won gold with a time of 1:39.774, followed by Germany's Felix Lock and Austria's Reinhard Egger.
The top Canadian finisher was Reid Watts in 22nd, with a total time of 1:40.859.
Matthew Wallace Riddle of Canada was 25th.
Watch Wolfgang Kindl wins men's luge event in Whistler:
