Germany’s, Austria’s and Latvia's athletes win gold at Junior World Championships 2025 in Switzerland

St. Moritz (FIL/02 Feb 2025) On February 1 and 2, 2025, the 40th FIL Junior World Championships presented by Degussa took place at the world-famous Olympia Bobrun St. Moritz-Celerina.

The races on the first day offered exciting decisions, with the world's best young talents giving nothing away on the demanding Swiss natural ice track. Particularly noteworthy was the close competition at the top at halftime, where only a few hundredths of a second separated the medalists.

Women's single: Margita Sirsnina from Latvia wins gold

Margita Sirsnina (LAT) secured the victory in the women's event in a thrilling race with a total time of 1:51.159. Sirsnina made history as the first junior world champion in luge for Latvia. She delivered two consistently strong runs on the fast track to secure the gold medal. Sirsnina's time in the first run was 55.723 seconds, which established her as a strong contender for the remaining drivers but only put her in fourth place at halftime. The young Latvian was particularly strong in the final split times, securing the top spot with a strong second run and the best time in the final run, finally crossing the finish line 0.129 seconds ahead of second-placed athlete Josephine Buse. With a total time of 1:51.191, the German, who was in the lead at halftime, was only 0.032 seconds behind Sirsnina. The winner of the 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games, Antonia Pietschmann (GER), also put in a strong performance and was the fastest junior with a speed of 125.36 km/h in the second run. With a total time of 1:51.280, Pietschmann took bronze. Her gap to the top was only 0.121 seconds, which made the competition even more exciting. Annina Grundböck (AUT) rounded off the strong women's field in fourth place, with a total time of 1:51.665. Grundböck showed a good competition, even though she was a little further behind the medal ranks at the end. Her best time of 55.846 seconds in the first run was one of the fastest in the entire field.

Sartor/Raimer win men's doubles junior world championship gold

A thrilling race with close calls characterized the competition of the young men's doubles at the 40th FIL Junior World Championships presented by Degussa on the legendary natural track of the Olympia Bobrun St. Moritz-Celerina. In the end, Silas Sartor and Liron Raimer (GER) secured the junior world championship title with a total time of 1:50.278 minutes. The German duo showed two consistently fast runs and beat their compatriots Louis Grünbeck and Maximilian Kührt, who won silver, by 0.100 seconds.

Third place went to Raimonds Baltgalvis and Uldis Jakseboga of Latvia, who won the bronze medal with a time of 1:50.591 minutes, 0.313 seconds behind the winners.

The Austrian duo Johannes Scharnagl and Moritz Schiegl also put in a strong performance, just missing out on a podium finish in fourth place.

Women's double: Elisa-Marie Storch and Pauline Patz win with strong nerves

The competition in the women's double at the 40th FIL Luge Junior World Championships 2025 in St. Moritz-Celerina promised an extremely exciting decision for the medals after the first run. The outcome of the race seemed completely unclear given the close times of the best teams. But in the second heat, some teams, including the medal contenders Pflaume/Petersheim, made mistakes in the fast lower part of the track, ruining their chances of winning. However, Elisa-Marie Storch and Pauline Patz showed nerves of steel and demonstrated their outstanding form. This enabled the duo from Germany to confidently secure the junior world championship title. They showed their strength particularly in the lower section of the track and increased the pace, which led them to a total time of 1:52.410 and thus to victory. Storch and Patz had already achieved an impressive sixth place at the EBERSPÄCHER World Cup in Oberhof, and they were also able to prove their class on the demanding natural ice track in St. Moritz. Alexandra Oberstolz and Katharina Sofie Kofler (ITA), winners of the 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games in Gangwon, delivered a strong second run. They started with a good starting position and went all out in the second run. The two South Tyroleans skied the fast lower part of the track the best. With a total time of 1:52.886, they took the silver medal in the end. Sarah Pflaume and Lina Petersheim (GER), who were among the favorites for gold, were happy about the bronze medal. Their total time of 1:54.247 put them on the podium, but driving errors in the second run, in the lower part of the track, prevented them from reducing their gap to the top positions. With the sixth time in the second run, the two young lugers were happy with their bronze medal in the end. Natasha Khytrenko and Viktoriia Koval (UKR) finished the race in fourth place. With a total time of 1:54.360, the two young athletes had reason to be satisfied. They left the favorites behind and only just missed out on a podium finish in fourth place.

Paul Socher secures gold in the men's singles on the second day

With two start and run best times, Paul Socher secured the junior world championship title in St. Moritz on Sunday, February 2, 2025. In the end, the young Austrian finished with a total time of 2:20.113 minutes, a full 0.123 seconds ahead of his German competitor Marco Leger, who slid to silver and commented on the result as follows: “There were small mistakes in both runs, which is annoying, but congratulations to Austria. Paul deserved to win,” said the young Bavarian. Socher's teammate Noah Kallan finished 0.280 seconds back in third place and Lukas Peccei of Italy was fourth, already 0.870 seconds back after two heats.

Team Austria wins the Junior World Championship Title

The 40th FIL Junior Luge World Championships presented by Degussa traditionally concluded with the team competition on Sunday, February 2, 2025. Six teams competed, each with a woman, a man in the singles and a doubles.

The Austrian team delivered an outstanding performance and, after winning the men's singles, also took the victory in the team competition. Austria beat Team Germany by 0.496 seconds. The Austrian team, consisting of Annina Grundböck, Paul Socher and the doubles Johannes Scharnagl and Moritz Schiegl, put in almost flawless runs and secured first place with a total time of 2:45.519. Grundböck started the team with a solid performance and took second place among the young women with a time of 55.609 seconds. Socher followed with an extraordinary run, clocking the fastest individual time of the event at 54.848 seconds and putting Austria in the lead. Scharnagl and Schiegl kept their nerves and delivered a strong final run that sealed the victory for Austria.

The favored German trio of Josephine Buse, Marco Leger and the double Silas Sartor and Liron Raimer put up a tough fight, but had to settle for second place with a time of 2:46.015. Buse set the pace early and was the fastest of the six women with an impressive 55.416 seconds. However, Leger lost valuable fractions of a second at the legendary “Horse Shoe Corner” and only came in fourth in the men's race. Sartor and Raimer tried to close the gap, but had a mistake in the lower part of the track and could only finish fourth in the doubles with their time of 55.530 seconds. Germany thus narrowly missed out on the third gold medal of the weekend. Team Latvia rounded out the podium, finishing third with a time of 2:47.450, 1.931 seconds behind Austria. Junior World Champions Margita Sirsnina and Edvards Marts Markitans delivered solid performances in their respective segments, but were unable to match the blazing pace of the leaders. However, Latvia's double Raimonds Baltgalvis and Uldis Jakseboga set the fastest time of any double in 54.941 seconds, securing a place on the podium for the team.

Slovakia, Ukraine and Poland fight for places

Slovakia finished in fourth place with a combined time of 2:48.036, highlighted by Christian Bosman's performance in the men's race and Mick/Varga in the doubles. Ukraine followed in fifth place with a combined time of 2:48.461, while Poland rounded out the field in sixth place with a time of 2:49.896.

In the end, Germany and Austria had each won two gold medals at the Junior World Championships, while Latvia had won one. Italy took silver in the women's doubles.

The Olympia Bobrun St. Moritz-Celerina is not only the oldest bobsleigh track in the world, but also the only natural ice track still on the World Cup and World Championship calendar. This unique track, which is characterized by its speed in the lower section and the breathtaking backdrop of the Engadine Alps, presents the athletes with special challenges.

The exciting competitions in St. Moritz-Celerina once again demonstrate the high level of young luge athletes and point to a promising future in international luge.

photos: Olympia Bobrun St. Moritz-Celerina