FIL World Luge Championships 2007
The 39th Luge World Cup on the synthetic track was held from 2nd to 4th February 2007 at the Austrian Innsbruck -Igls and was the highlight of the Luge World Cup season 2006/07.
The World Championships were a triumph of German luger who won all four competitions and also won a silver and two bronze medals. Thus, the German team won half of all Medals to be awarded.
Team competition
For the World Cup team competition issuing occurred on 2 February to 13 nations. Germany was expected, and superior winner. In all three runs, the German riders came out the best times. Leitner / Resch Möller and then also won in their single starts, Kraushaar- Pielach was due to a driving error only third parties. Italy was able to displace the host Austrians from the second rank due to a strong Zöggeler. Canada was disqualified.
Men - Single Seater
As it became apparent through the course of the season before the World Cup, the final of the men in the single-seater to a duel between the Italians, reigning world champion and World Cup leader Armin Zöggeler and the German challenger David Moeller was. Zöggeler went as a favorite at the start, after the season was largely dominated and also the experienced starter. On the eve Möller beat by two hundredths of seconds Zöggler but still. Möller sat down at the end extremely tight with seven hundredths of a second by and for the second time after 2004 world champion. Kompelttiert was the good German result by a surprising third place by Jan Eichhorn, who was the only one starter near the times of the two winners.
With Stefan Höhener Switzerland had the first time in a long a starter could be placed well. The athletes from the host Austria could not be finished in the top 10, but that was because that the Austrian team was at that time in a transitional phase and moving up the young athletes were not resistant enough. Italy celebrated a good team performance. So placed next to the Vice World Champion Zöggeler Reinhold Rainer as the sixth and the doyen Wilfried Huber in the top ten. This team performance was surpassed only by that of the Germans, who also hopes the young Felix Loch placed in eleventh place in addition to the medal winners in the ninth and Johannes Ludwig af.
Some athletes, such as the American Tony Benshoof ( 18 ) or the Austrian Martin Abentung ( 20 ) disappointed or at least could not meet the expectations set for them. An echo in the media also found the participation of several "exotic ", as the starting Belgium Manfred Heinzel Maier ( 42 ), who belonged to the A-team of the Austrian luger in the 1980s, or the launching of Venezuela Werner Hoeger ( 50 ).
After the first passage is qualified only the best 25 starters of the first round for the final second run.
Men - two-seater
Women
After the first stage, all starters left from the 21 rank for the second passage from.
As mentioned several times previously were all German gymnasts leave the rest of the field behind. Surprisingly won Huefner, the big favorite Silke Kraushaar- Pielach was third. The coming German Geisenberger was fourth. After the German gymnasts women from the United States were the most successful. Reithmayer could uphold Austrian colors as seventh. The Swiss gymnasts could not place in the top ten is.