No American has medaled in individual luge, but that figures to change in Turin. Tony Benshoof finished third in the World Cup this season. The U.S. also is counting on a medal from the doubles team of Mark Grimmette and Brian Martin.
U.S. Olympic team
Singles:
Tony Benshoof, 30, White Bear Lake, Minn.
Christian Niccum, 28, Woodinville, Wash.
Jonathan Myles, 23, Rumney, N.H.
Courtney Zablocki, 25, Highlands Ranch
Samantha Retrosi, 20, Saranac Lake, N.Y.
Erin Hamlin, 19, Remsen, N.Y.
Doubles:
Mark Grimmette, 35, Muskegon, Mich., and Brian Martin, 32, Palo Alto, Calif.
Preston Griffall, 21, Salt Lake City, and Dan Joye, 20, Carmel, N.Y.
Sure bet
Armin Zoeggeler, Italy
The reigning Olympic champion and this season’s World Cup winner will have the home-course advantage on the new track in Cesana, outside of Turin. Track time is crucial in the sliding sports, and no one knows this track better than the five-time World Cup champion who edged the legendary Georg Hackl for the gold medal at Salt Lake.
Who to watch
Tony Benshoof, USA
Having begun the sport in 1989 after being intrigued during the 1988 Olympics, Benshoof narrowly missed making the 1998 Olympic team and finished 17th at Salt Lake. But now he’s a consistent podium finisher poised to make history.
Sylke Otto, Germany
Otto led a German sweep of the medals at Salt Lake and is a good bet to do it again. A four-time world champion and three-time World Cup champion, Otto has finished in the top three of the World Cup standings every season since 1999.
Mark Grimmette and Brian Martin, USA
With a bronze medal at Nagano and a silver at Salt Lake, Grimmette and Martin aim to complete their set. Even another silver or bronze means they make history: No American man has won medals at three Olympics.
Colorado connection
Courtney Zablocki, Highlands Ranch
Zablocki discovered the sport through USA Luge’s traveling “slider search” program in 1993, trying it on a street sled near her home. Then 12, she went back for more the next day and earned an invitation to a “screening camp.” She has been a luger ever since. Zablocki finished 13th at Salt Lake but has been the top U.S. women on the World Cup this season (ninth).
Best all-time
Germany’s Georg Hackl is a three-time Olympic gold medalist, the only Olympian (winter or summer) to win five medals in the same individual event. When he won his first gold medal, at Nagano in 1998, he became the first luger to record the fastest time in all four runs. Hackl has been skipping World Cup races this season citing injuries, but no one will be surprised if he turns it on in Cesana.
