Madeleine Egle defies wind and competitors

Altenberg (FIL/12 Jan 2025) When things are going well, external influences hardly play a role. This was fully true of Madeleine Egle at the EBERSPAECHER Luge World Cup in Altenberg. The Austrian set the best time in both runs. And the 26-year-old was not affected by the wind gusts that caused problems for many of her competitors.

She completed the two runs in the 1220-meter SachsenEnergie Ice Track in 1:45.642 minutes. It was her 15th World Cup victory, and third this season. Anna Berreiter came in second, 0.150 seconds behind her. It was the first podium finish of the season for the 25-year-old German. “With the return to the podium, a lot of pressure has been lifted,” said Berreiter, “the season has been very difficult so far.” Merle Fräbel finished third, 0.263 seconds back. The German was ninth after the first run, but still managed to move up with the third-fastest time. “It was very windy, so I just held against it,” she explained, ”because the wind direction kept changing, you can't prepare for that.”

The wind has blown away many hopes. Lisa Schulte, for example, had hoped for her first World Cup victory after finishing second in the first run, but with the sixth-best time she fell back to fourth place (0.322 seconds behind). Even worse was the result for Julia Taubitz and Emily Sweeney. The German, who was still Sprint World Champion in Altenberg last season, only came in tenth (1.089) after the twelfth time in the second run. The US-American had an even worse time: 14th place, 1.597 seconds behind.

Natalie Maag was unfazed by the weather conditions. The Swiss athlete improved from seventh to fifth place (0.452). Ashley Farquharson also managed a huge leap forward. From tenth place, the American still managed to reach sixth position with the fourth-fastest time (0.466).

Dorothea Schwarz, who was ranked fourth after the first run, was disqualified before the second run. Reason: the runners on the Austrian's sled were too warm.