Melina Fischer, Noah Kallan and Mueller/Haugsjaa win Nations Cup in Oberhof

Oberhof (FIL/December 13, 2024) Noah Kallan of Austria, Melina Fischer of Germany and the US American doubles team of Marcus Mueller and Ansel Haugsjaa delivered convincing performances to win the Nations Cup at the start of the EBERSPAECHER Luge World Cup weekend in the LOTTO ThüringenEisArena on Friday, December 13, 2024.

Noah Kallan won the men's singles with a time of 43.177 seconds. The Austrian was one hundredth of a second faster at his first Nations Cup victory than Svante Kohala of Sweden. Local hero David Nössler sledded to third place (+0.099 sec.). Kallan was pleased with his great run, even though he was unable to qualify for Sunday's World Cup race as an additional starter. “I'm happy with my performance and victory in the Nations Cup, especially since I crashed twice in training this week. Our men's team is incredibly strong. The quadruple success last weekend in Innsbruck was an impressive demonstration of that. I probably won't get a World Cup start anytime soon. But winning the Nations Cup shows that I have ambitions,” said the man from Salzburg.

In the women's event, Melina Fischer took first place in 42.237 seconds. The 20-year-old German impressed with a convincing performance ahead of Verena Hofer (42.260 sec.) and her teammate Anka Jänicke (42.316 sec.). “It's nice to start the World Cup weekend with a Nations Cup. Now I would like to finally show two clean runs at the World Cup tomorrow. That would be an early Christmas present,” said the woman from Zwickau.

In the doubles competition, the Americans Marcus Mueller and Ansel Haugsjaa took the lead in 41.955 seconds and clinched their third consecutive Nations Cup victory after Lillehammer and Innsbruck. The Canadians Devin Wardrope and Cole Zajanski finished second in 42.130 seconds, ahead of the German additional starters Moritz Jäger and Valentin Steudte (42.130). “We could have definitely had a better run today, but it feels very good to have taken another victory,” said Ansel Haugsjaa, and his teammate Marcus Mueller added: ”Yes, the run was sloppy. We want to do better tomorrow in the World Cup and show a good race. The goal is then to be able to start in the seeded group in the new year and no longer in the Nations Cup.”

Women's doubles is the newest discipline in the EBERSPÄCHER World Cup. It will be part of the program for the first time in February 2026 at the Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina. None of the women's doubles had to compete in the Nations Cup in Oberhof on December 13, 2024 to qualify for the World Cup. Eleven teams have qualified for the World Cup and will take part in the training of the seeded group on Friday, February 9, starting at 2 p.m.

Detailed results and further information about the Nations Cup and the 2nd EBERSPÄCHER Luge World Cup 2024/2025 in Innsbruck are available at the following link: fil-luge.org/de/ergebnisse/eberspaecher-weltcup-38

The FIL Nations Cup serves as a qualification race for the World Cup and is an important part of the international luge calendar. It gives both up-and-coming young talents and established athletes the opportunity to prove themselves among the world's elite.

Schedule 3rd EBERSPÄCHER Luge World Cup, Oberhof (GER)

Local start time (CET/CET)

Saturday, December 14, 2024

09:30 hrs Men's doubles, 1st run
10:15 hrs Women's doubles, 1st run

11:10 hrs Men's doubles, 2nd run
11:45 hrs Women's doubles, 2nd run

12:35 hrs Women's single, 1st run
13:50 hrs Women's single, 2nd run

Sunday, December 15, 2024

10:30 hrs Men's single, 1st run
11:55 hrs Men's single, 2nd run

13:30 hrs Team relay

All information is subject to change!