Britcher Edges Geisenberger in Lillehammer

From Lillehammer, NOR

(Jan. 20, 2018) For the bulk of the women’s luge season, it’s been all Germany at the top of the podium.

Aside from Emily Sweeney’s Sprint World Cup win in Winterberg, Germany has owned the top of the podium. That includes four sweeps of the podium for the German women.

Summer Britcher (Courtesy FIL TV)

Going into her second heat, American Summer Britcher looked to be the second American to break up the German dominance this season. She found herself .006 behind Natalie Geisenberger, and needing a perfect run to try to overtake the World Cup leader.

Britcher’s second run was about as perfect as she could have asked for, and it put the pressure on Geisenberger.

The German, not one to crack under pressure, had a run that was the second-fastest of the day, but it wasn’t enough to stay ahead of Britcher, with Summer Britcher winning her first gold medal of the season, .033 ahead of Geisenberger in second place.

Germany swept positions two through four, with Geisenberger’s silver and Julia Taubitz winning bronze. Tatjana Hüfner finished fourth, ahead of Russian Viktoriia Demchenko and Raluca Stramaturaru of Romania.

Erin Hamlin finished ninth in her penultimate World Cup race of her career, with Emily Sweeney in 14th place to round out the American effort.

Alex Gough led the way for Canada, just missing the top ten with an 11th place run. Teammates Kimberley McRae and Brooke Apshkrum finished 17th and 20th, respectively.

Results:

Pos Name Nation Bib Start 1 Start 2 Run 1 Run 2 Total
1 Summer Britcher USA 19 2.344 2.377 47.672 47.594 1:35.266
2 Natalie Geisenberger GER 21 2.373 2.363 47.666 47.633 1:35.299
3 Julia Taubitz GER 12 2.365 2.357 47.726 47.803 1:35.529
4 Tatjana Hüfner GER 24 2.367 2.350 47.788 47.766 1:35.544
5 Viktoriia Demchenko RUS 13 2.364 2.369 47.774 47.785 1:35.559
6 Raluca Stramaturaru ROU 11 2.384 2.384 47.712 47.931 1:35.643
7 Tatyana Ivanova RUS 22 2.344 2.347 47.700 47.983 1:35.683
8 Martina Kocher SUI 17 2.370 2.373 47.821 47.923 1:35.744
9 Erin Hamlin USA 14 2.365 2.396 47.816 47.940 1:35.756
10 Kendija Aparjods LAT 10 2.393 2.389 47.895 47.938 1:35.833
11 Alex Gough CAN 23 2.344 2.349 47.890 47.952 1:35.842
12 Sandra Robatscher ITA 15 2.362 2.355 47.936 47.925 1:35.861
13 Ulla Zirne LAT 5 2.427 2.420 48.062 47.874 1:35.936
14 Emily Sweeney USA 3 2.388 2.386 48.096 47.856 1:35.952
15 Eliza Cauce LAT 6 2.370 2.385 48.069 47.892 1:35.961
16 Andrea Vötter ITA 16 2.393 2.391 47.919 48.107 1:36.026
17 Kimberley McRae CAN 18 2.366 2.374 47.996 48.073 1:36.069
18 Birgit Platzer AUT 4 2.407 2.410 48.082 48.031 1:36.113
19 Miriam Kastlunger AUT 8 2.395 2.392 48.135 48.082 1:36.217
20 Brooke Apshkrum CAN 2 2.390 2.381 48.283 48.281 1:36.564
21 Vilde Tangnes NOR 1 2.407 2.409 48.456 48.189 1:36.645
22 Madeleine Egle AUT 7 2.425 2.410 48.137 53.586 1:41.723
DNF Dajana Eitberger GER 20 2.353 2.358 47.748 DNF
DSQ Ekaterina Katnikova RUS 9 2.375 48.096 DSQ