Lake Placid, N.Y. – No American has won an Olympic medal in singles luge, but Tony Benshoof is looking like he could become the first at the Turin Games.
Benshoof, a resident of White Bear Lake, Minn., was second in Saturday’s World Cup for his fourth podium finish in five races this season.
“I just really attacked and went after it,” said Benshoof, 30. “I was very happy with myself, very proud of myself for putting it together.”
The winner was Italy’s Armin Zoeggeler, who is perceived as the heavy favorite at the Olympics because the home team figures to have much more experience on the new track. Zoeggeler had a two-run advantage Saturday of .629 seconds, a huge margin in luge.
“Boy, that’s a lot of time,” Benshoof said. “I think Armin was perfect today. That’s very tough here in Lake Placid. I think I was maybe the next most perfect person. He’s very good. Armin is unbelievable.”
– John Meyer
Cross country: Skiing before cowbell-clanging home fans, Beckie Scott led the entire way and held off Russia’s Julija Tchepalova to win a 15-kilometer classic World Cup race in Canmore, Alberta.
Scott, Canada’s 2002 Olympic sprint champion, also won the silver Thursday in the 10-kilometer freestyle to start one of the final major competitions before Turin.
“I knew I had it pretty much sealed up,” Scott said. “Unless I crashed, I was going to win this race. It’s fantastic to do this at home. I’m extremely happy to be able to rise to the occasion.”
Germany’s Tobias Angerer won the men’s 30-kilometer classic in 1 hour, 18 minutes, 10.9 seconds. He had taken the World Cup lead with his third-place finish in Thursday’s 15-kilometer freestyle race.
Norway’s Frode Estil was second in 1:18.11.4 and Germany’s Jens Filbrich was third. Kris Freeman was the top American, 20th.
“It was a fantastic race today,” Angerer said. “I had perfect skis. It’s nice to have two people on the podium.”
Scott advanced one spot to third in the World Cup standings, further boosting her confidence heading into her third Olympics.
Bobsled: Germany’s Matthias Hoepfner edged American Todd Hays by eight hundredths of a second to win his first World Cup race in Cortina D’ampezzo, Italy.
The 29-year-old Hoepfner, in the two-man bobsled with brakeman Marc Kuehne, drove Germany 2 in the fastest time in both runs for a combined 1:47.0.
Hays and Steve Mesler, in United States 1, finished with a total time of 1:47.08, pushing the Canada 1 team of Pierre Lueders and Lascelles Brown into third place.
Hays leads the World Cup overall standings with 340 points, 38 more than German veteran Andre Lange, who was sixth Saturday, 0.39 seconds back.
Hoepfner’s win, which lifted him to sixth place overall with 231 points, continued his impressive progress this season – 16th in Calgary, 10th in Lake Placid, fifth in Igls and first in Cortina.
Martin Annen of Switzerland finished fourth, and Steve Holcomb of the United States fifth.
The four-man World Cup event will complete the Cortina meet today.
Ski jumping: Snowstorms and strong wind forced the cancellation of a men’s World Cup large hill event in Engelberg, Switzerland.
Nordic combined: Organizers canceled the ski jumping stage of a World Cup event in Ramsau, Austria, because of strong wind and heavy snow. Weather permitting, the two jumps will be held today.
Biathlon: Anna Carin Olofsson of Sweden won the 7.5-kilometer World Cup sprint in Osrblie, Slovakia.
