Trinity Ellis led a trio of Canadians with a 16th-place finish in women's singles at the FIL Luge World Cup on Jan. 7 in Sigulda, Latvia. The 20-year-old Pemberton native put down two consistent runs for a combined time of 1:24.329.
“I’m happy with how my race went. I was able to fix a few issues I had in training so that was a big positive for me,” said Ellis. “It was a fun and cold day out here today. I’m looking to keep improving and carry this forward into next weekend here as well.”
Germany’s Dajana Eitberger won the women’s singles event with a time of 1:22.999. Latvia’s Elina Leva Vitola clocked a silver-medal winning time of 1:23.093, while Germany’s Julia Taubitz placed third at 1:23.143.
Two other young Canadian athletes continued their development on the elite luge circuit in Sigulda. Carolyn Maxwell of Calgary, Alta. grabbed the final spot in the top-20 with a time of 1:24.652. Whistler's Caitlin Nash finished 22nd at 1:24.774.
A challenging week
Meanwhile, Devin Wardrope and Cole Zajanski led the way for a new generation of Canadian men, sliding to an 11th-place result. Competing in just their ninth World Cup race ever, and first on the challenging Sigulda track, the Calgary-based sliders finished just outside the top-10 with a two-run time of 1:24.456.
“This week was really challenging for us,” said the 20-year-old Wardrope. “Sigulda is a track that we just haven’t been able to get right, and it got trickier with the temperature dropping 10 degrees the day prior to the race.”
The young Canadians faced everything they could handle on the 13-corner track that has it all, requiring world-class skill to navigate exacting lines in particular spots and courage to go for speed. Wardrope and Zajanski, of course, now carry the torch for doubles luge in Canada with the retirement of Olympic silver medallists Tristan Walker and Justin Snith.
“We were a little hesitant coming into the race as we had a crash in the Nations Cup, but we put down two of our best runs of the week today,” added Wardrope. “The runs were far from perfect, but it gives us a solid base, and a lot more confidence going into next week.”
The Latvian team of Martins Bots and Roberts Plume successfully defended home ice, winning with a time of 1:22.642.
Germany’s Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt were silver at 1:22.798, while Italy’s Emanuel Rieder and Simon Kainzwaldner grabbed the bronze medal with a time of 1:23.024.
Team Canada will remain in Sigulda this week for the second of two back-to-back races on the World Cup circuit. Full results are available here.
