David Gleirscher claims Austria’s first gold in the men’s singles for 50 years

PyeongChang (RWH): Austria has won Olympic gold in the luge for the first time in 50 years, with David Gleirscher becoming the surprise winner at the Olympic Games in PyeongChang. Silver and bronze went to Chris Mazdzer (USA) and Johannes Ludwig (GER).

However, luck played a big role in Gleirscher’s victory. After the third heat, Germany’s Felix Loch looked to have his third Olympic victory firmly in his sights following his wins in 2010 and 2014. While many believed that his gold was already safe, Loch (28) from Bavaria lost out after an error on his fourth run and ultimately had to make do with fifth place

At the finish line, David Gleirscher could not believe his luck. The last time an Austrian won gold in the men’s singles was in 1968 when Manfred Schmidt won in Grenoble, France. Markus Prock won Austria’s last luge medal with a bronze in Salt Lake City in 2002. With his victory, David Gleirscher – who has yet to make it onto the World Cup podium and only just secured his ticket to the Olympics at the very last minute – has also surpassed his father Gerhard’s success. Gerhard Gleirscher won bronze at the 1997 World Championships in Innsbruck.

The silver medal went to Chris Mazdzer, which marked the first ever medal in the men’s event for USA Luge. Prior to Mazdzer’s result, Team USA had only managed to secure medals in the doubles event and when Erin Hamlin won bronze in the women’s event four years ago. On his third run, Mazdzer broke the track record (47.534 seconds) set by Loch just a short while earlier.

The bronze medal was won by Johannes Ludwig, who was making his Olympic début. This made Ludwig Germany’s best starter for the first time since his fourth-place finish at last year’s World Championships.

Quotes

David Gleirscher (AUT / second at the 2016 U23 World Championships, third at the 2013 Junior World Championships):

“Unbelievable! I think it’s going to take a few days for it all to sink in. To begin with, I was certain that Felix would be going home with the gold. To be honest, I can’t really believe it.”

Chris Mazdzer (USA)

“This feels like 18 years in the making. This is what you go to bed thinking about sometimes, to put it together on some of the most difficult conditions and be the first U.S. man to win an Olympic medal. It hasn’t set in. I can’t process all of that. I’ve just been having fun the last week. Coming in, the ice temps are dropping. It’s getting colder .  knew that I had it. I don’t know. It was a weird thing. I was at piece with myself. I looked at the ice and was excited, not nervous at all. I think that really helped me have that great third run.”

Johannes Ludwig (GER / fourth in the 2017 World Championships, third in the 2013 World Championships):

“This was a huge day for luge as it demonstrated that it doesn’t just come down to your equipment. For the past few years, Felix has always managed to perform his best at the high point of the season. But he’s human, just like the rest of us. Anyone can make a mistake, Felix included. Luck was on my side this time.”

Felix Loch (GER, 2010 and 2014 Olympic Champion, five-time World Champion):

“That’s just how it goes in sport. There were three good runs and one rubbish one. The President of the IOC Thomas Bach gave me some words of consolation in the dressing room. It was very emotional. He himself knows only too well how it feels to suffer a heavy defeat. I really appreciated the gesture.”