Calgary's Alex Gough takes home 2 luge World Cup silvers on home ice
CBC Sports | Posted: December 9, 2017 7:16 PM | Last Updated: December 9, 2017
Canadian wins medals in women's luge and team relay
Canadian Alex Gough impressed in her home city, winning a World Cup silver in women's luge, and adding another silver as a member of Canada's team relay from Calgary on Saturday.
Gough finished her second run in the individual competition with a guaranteed spot on the podium and ended up finishing 0.115 seconds behind German Tatjana Huefner (1:33.442), who took gold.
A mistake by German Natalie Geisenberger during her second run was enough to push Gough up the podium into silver position, while Geisenberger hung on for bronze.
"It is a great feeling. I've been close a couple of times already this season so I knew I had the potential to be up there. It feels great to do it here, and especially at home in front of all these people cheering for us," said Gough.
Canadian Kim McRae was the next best competitor, finishing just off the podium in fourth, 0.354 seconds behind the leader.
"It was great runs today. I finally was able to let the sled run and have fun with it," said McRae. "I was a little more focused off the track this week, but when I reached the start — for me it was game time and I was able to go in with a clear mind."
Eighteen-year-old Brooke Apshkrum, also from Calgary, finished 14th.
Team relay podium finish
The Canadian relay team of Gough, Samuel Edney, Justin Snith and Tristan Walker won silver but may have missed out on a golden opportunity.
They finished 0.041 seconds back of Germany, but Snith and Walker faltered slightly on the final turn, possibly giving Germany enough time to swoop in for gold.
"This is the first time we have had a relay in Calgary. Sometimes it's fastest to take a hit off the wall, but we've never had to hit a paddle here before. It's not easy coming out of that final corner and then hitting the paddle with the sun in your eyes," laughed Walker, of Cochrane, Alta, who was sixth with Snith in Friday's doubles race. "It is big for our whole team to have a solid weekend here."
The win is Germany's 34th in team relay, the most ever. The next closest team is Russia, who has five.
The medal is also Edney's second of the weekend, who won silver in men's luge on Friday.