Ukraine wins its first World Cup luge medal since 2009 after a mishap-filled relay
Greg Cackett, Brad Hall, Taylor Lawrence and Arran Gulliver from Britain celebrate their victory after the four-man bobsleigh, 2nd run, at the Bobsleigh World Cup in Winterberg, Germany, Sunday Jan. 5, 2025. (David Inderlied/dpa via AP)[ASSOCIATED PRESS/David Inderlied]
Germany won a World Cup luge team relay on Sunday, with Austria finishing second. Those countries have the top two luge programs in the world. The surprise was Ukraine finishing third — and how the war-torn country got there. Its relay team finished third in a race at Sigulda, Latvia. There were seven teams in the relay, and four of them didn’t finish. Ukraine finished almost four seconds back of Germany’s winning time. Four seconds is a lifetime in luge, a sport where races are often decided by hundredths or even thousandths of a second. Ukraine won its first World Cup luge medal in more than 16 years.
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