Julia Taubitz, of Germany, celebrates after racing to a first place finish during a women's luge World Cup event in Whistler, B.C., Saturday, Dec. 16, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
WHISTLER, B.C. – Julia Taubitz led a German podium sweep in the women’s singles at the 2023 Eberspacher Luge World Cup circuit stop at the Whistler Sliding Centre on Saturday.
Taubitz grabbed gold with a time of one minute and 18.066 seconds.
Anna Berreiter (1:18.177) and Merle Fraebel (1:18.179) earned silver and bronze, respectively.
Canadians Embyr-Lee Susko and Trinity Ellis finished ninth and 16th.
The team relay is set to take place later in the day.
Team relay squads consist of one sled from each discipline: women’s singles, men’s doubles, men’s singles, and women’s doubles.
All four sleds for each team start one after the other from one start height, provided the slider in front of them hits a touch pad to open the start gate for their teammate.
It’s the first time women’s doubles is being included in the relay, with Susko and sliding partner Beattie Podulsky competing.
The pair raced in their first senior event on Friday and have only been working together for a month.
Podulsky said on Friday that she had nerves ahead of the race, with Susko playing the role of calming teammate.
“It was really nerve wracking,” Podulsky said. “I was ready to throw up before that first run. I had to be told ‘it’s OK, if it happens it happens. We’re new.’
“It was definitely really nerve wracking being around everyone and in that environment.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 16, 2023.
