Status: 06.02.2022 2:56 p.m
Luge athlete Johannes Ludwig won the first German gold medal at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing in an impressive manner.
Ludwig won on Sunday (02/06/2022) in 3:48:735 minutes in front of Wolfgang Kindl from Austria (+0.160s) and the Italian Dominik Fischnaller (+0.951s). Felix Loch (+1.143s) finished fourth, just missing out on a medal.
First a track record, then a flawless ride
Already in the third run, Ludwig had set an exclamation mark when he improved his own track record from the previous day to 57.043 seconds. In the fourth round he then defended his lead with a flawless drive. Ludwig had already started the second day of competition as the leader.
On the impressive track in the Xiaohaituo Mountains, what the riders had predicted came true: the most consistent tobogganist wins – and that was Ludwig. He didn’t show any weaknesses in any run, made an excellent start, always found the perfect line and also benefited from excellent material.
Greatest career success for Ludwig
For the overall luge World Cup winner, the triumph in Beijing is the biggest single success of his career. In Pyeongchang 2018, Ludwig won the gold medal with the team in addition to bronze in the individual.
The three-time Olympic champion Loch, however, went empty-handed in the fight for the podium. The 32-year-old initially fell back after a mixed third run before fighting his way back up to fourth place in the last heat. In the end, about two tenths of a second were missing on bronze.
Langenhan with a strong Olympic debut
Max Langenhan, as the third German starter, was able to improve on his seventh place from the previous day. The 22-year-old finished sixth in his Olympic debut.
Emotional experience for Georgian Saba Kumaritashvili
Also at the start was the Georgian Saba Kumaritashvili, whose cousin Nodar Kumaritashvili died in a training session on the Vancouver ice rink shortly before the opening ceremony of the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver.
Leading the pack was Saba Kumaritashvili, 31st overall. Nothing to do, but just taking part in the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing must have been a very emotional experience for him.