Max Langenhan clinches first World Championship title in front of home audience
Max Langenhan secured his inaugural world title in men’s luge in Altenberg, Germany, clinching gold with a commanding lead of 0.761 seconds over Austria’s Nico Gleirscher. Meanwhile, 14-time World Champion Felix Loch claimed the bronze. In the women’s doubles, Austria’s Selina Egle and Lara Kipp emerged victorious, and in the men’s doubles, their compatriots Juri Gatt and Riccardo Schoepf stood atop the podium.
Max Langenhan, the local hero, secured his inaugural luge World Championship title in impressive fashion in Altenberg, Germany. The 24-year-old dominated the competition with a total time of 1:47.813 seconds, claiming gold in front of a supportive home crowd with a lead of three quarters of a second. After earning silver in the men’s sprint the day before, Langenhan elevated his performance, delivering a superb second run of 53.870 to secure the championship title. Expressing his joy, he stated, “It’s unbelievable. I was unsure before the second run because all the other guys had already lost ground, so I thought I had to have a perfect run. I’m super happy that I did.” Austria’s Nico Gleirscher earned silver, trailing by 0.761 seconds, while 14-time World Champion Felix Loch secured bronze, marking his first individual world medal in three years.
Selina Egle and Lara Kipp secured the women’s doubles world championship title in Altenberg through their consistent performances. Following a disappointing showing in the sprint race the previous day, the Austrian pair rebounded with two solid runs, claiming the title over Latvia’s Anda Upite and Zane Kaluma, as well as the USA’s Chevonne Forgan and Sophia Kirkby.
While the Latvian pair set a track record of 42.334 seconds to open the competition, and the USA matched the mark on their second run, both record-breaking attempts fell short of surpassing Egle and Kipp. The Austrian duo clinched victory with a total time of 1:24.761 seconds.
Reflecting on their achievement, Kipp stated, “It was a hard-fought title. Our advantage was the two consistently fast runs.”
Austria dominated the men’s doubles competition with a one-two finish, as Juri Gatt and Riccardo Schoepf secured the world championship title in a head-to-head battle against their fellow countrymen. Having won bronze in the sprint event the previous day, the duo narrowly edged out Thomas Steu and Wolfgang Kindl to claim gold with a combined time of 1:22.924 seconds.
Although Steu and Kindl posted the fastest time in the second run, their efforts fell short as they couldn’t catch up with their counterparts who had taken the lead after the first run. Germany’s Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt secured the third spot on the podium, earning the World bronze.