CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — Germany, Austria, Italy. They were the three best luge nations at the Milan Cortina Olympics, and fittingly, they were the three best teams in the team relay Thursday night.
Germany is now 4-for-4 in the team event in the Olympic program, winning yet another gold medal to end this year’s luge slate at the Cortina track.
The team of women’s singles gold medalist Julia Taubitz, men’s singles gold medalist Max Langenhan, women’s doubles silver medalists Dajana Eitberger and Magdalena Matschina, and men’s doubles bronze medalists Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt took the gold in 3 minutes, 41.672 seconds.
Wendl and Arlt are now seven-time Olympic gold medalists — three in doubles, four in relays.
Austria was second in 3:42.214, and host Italy was third in 3:42.521. Latvia was fourth, and the U.S. — bronze medalist Ashley Farquharson, Jonny Gustafson, Marcus Mueller and Ansel Haugsjaa in men’s doubles, and Chevonne Forgan and Sophia Kirkby in women’s singles — was fifth.
Ukraine was sixth, and its six sliders all took a knee crossing the finish line and held their helmets skyward in a tribute to skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych. He was disqualified from the Olympic race earlier Thursday over his insistence to wear a helmet honoring athletes who have died in his country since Russia invaded in 2022.
The team event consists of one run for all four sleds, and teams must slap a pad that hangs from the top of the track as they cross the finish line to either activate the starting gate for the next sled or stop the clock at the end.
The victory made Taubitz and Langenhan the only double-gold winners in luge at this year’s Olympics, where Germany again was the overall best, with three golds and five medals overall. Italy won four medals (two gold, two bronze), as did Austria (three silver, one bronze).
Latvia won a silver, and the U.S. medal was Farquharson’s bronze.
There are two races left in the World Cup season: Feb. 28 and March 1 in St. Moritz, Switzerland, and March 7-8 in Altenberg, Germany. It’s unclear how many teams will take part in those races, though there are some World Cup overall titles yet to be claimed.
Most U.S. sleds are likely to head home for the remainder of the season, though that may change.
