Every Olympics has its share of heroes, but for many of the women competing in the singles luge event there was also a clear villain — curve 13.
Exit the small hill into the twisting curve at the finale of the 1,615m track a fraction off trajectory, or without quite enough momentum, and even the world’s finest might be lucky to escape with only a poor time for injury.
Germany’s Julia Taubitz was in the lead in the first half of the singles luge event on Monday after a scintillating run that set a new track record, but then she lost control on curve 13.
Photo: Reuters
Although she spent some time with the medical team, she was back again to compete in the second half yesterday, and placed 12th after the third run.
The fourth and final run was due to take place later yesterday.
Taubitz’s coach and several experts around the track surmised that the women were hitting the curve just a few kilometers slower than the men, with that lack of momentum being a real killer.
Yet Taubitz’s plight highlighted the risks of a sport where athletes hurtle feet-first down an icy track at speeds exceeding 130kph.
The US’ Emily Sweeney, who broke her neck in the competition four years ago, had a strong first run, but then she, too, was hit by the curse of curve 13.
“That was hard,” she said on Monday, fighting back tears. “It’s a tough spot... If you’re crooked a little bit in your sled or you’re not in the right spot, it’ll get you.”
She was set to go into yesterday’s final run in 26th place — scant reward for her work to recover.
Despite all the chaos, the favorite and reigning gold medalist Natalie Geisenberger of Germany finished the first three rounds in pole position yesterday, followed by compatriot Anna Berreiter.
Taiwan’s Lin Sin-rong was 31st after the third run, with a total time of 3 minutes, 3.611 seconds. She was 8.56 seconds behind Geisenberger, who posted a time of 2 minutes, 55.051 seconds.
With all the injuries, an outsider might ask if curve 13 is simply too dangerous, but the competitors are another breed.
Austria’s Madeleine Egle, a bronze medalist in Pyeongchang and one of the favorites, also flipped at curve 13 on Monday.
“It’s a cool curve, it’s good that there are some technical difficulties otherwise it would be boring,” Egle said. “I think it’s cool to slide and to figure, it might make you crash, but still, it has a good feeling.”
Egle was pladed sixth after the third run.
Additional reporting by staff writer
While British star Jack Draper spent the past week trying to find rhythm and comfort in his first grass tournament of the season at the Queen’s Club Championships in London, Jiri Lehecka on Saturday bulldozed everything in his path. After more than two furious hours of battle, their form was reflected in the final scoreline as Lehecka toppled a frustrated Draper, the second seed, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 to reach the biggest final of his career, against Carlos Alcaraz. Lehecka is also the first Czech to reach the men’s title match at Queen’s since Ivan Lendl lifted the trophy in 1990. Draper, who
REUNION: Former Barcelona players Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and Miami coach Javier Mascherano are to face their former coach Luis Enrique Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi faces a tantalizing reunion with former club Paris Saint-Germain in the FIFA Club World Cup last 16 after both sides on Monday progressed to the knockout phase. Miami drew 2-2 with Palmeiras to go through second in Group A, after the Brazilian side fought back from two goals down to seal top spot. They now face an all-Brazil clash against Botafogo, who lost 1-0 to Atletico Madrid, but progressed from Group B in second at the expense of the Spaniards. Champions of Europe PSG won the group with a 2-0 victory over Seattle Sounders, paving the
Taiwanese women’s doubles star Hsieh Su-wei and Australian teenager Maya Joint on Tuesday eased into the Eastbourne Open quarter-finals in England as Hsieh prepares for the Wimbledon Championships next week. Four-time Wimbledon women’s doubles champion Hsieh and 19-year-old Joint fired two aces and converted five of eight break points to defeat Japan’s Shuko Aoyama and Poland’s Katarzyna Piter 6-3, 6-3 in 58 minutes on the grass court. Hsieh and Joint are today to face fourth seeds Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic and Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko, who advanced on Monday with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Quinn Gleason of the US and
Dale Earnhardt Jr might already be NASCAR’s most popular crew chief. He is certainly an undefeated one. Pressed into unexpected service, Earnhardt on Saturday called the shots for 18-year-old prospect Connor Zilisch in the No. 88 Chevrolet, as they landed in victory lane in the second-tier Xfinity Series race at Pocono Raceway. “It felt good to have some input and decisionmaking power,” Earnhardt said. “And then helping Connor understand what our plan was so he knew when to push and what he was expected to do.” Earnhardt — who won NASCAR’s most-popular driver award 15 times — made a pit stop from his
RSS