As a raucous partisan crowd cheered, reigning Olympic luge champion Armin Zoeggeler warmed Italian hearts by winning his country’s first gold medal of the Winter Games.
“I still don’t believe that I won the medal,” said Zoeggeler, who also has silver and bronze Olympic medals. “This was the most difficult medal of my career. The pressure was a lot.”
More Top Picks Best Orthopedic Shoes For Plantar Fasciitis
American Tony Benshoof finished fourth, tying the country’s best finish in singles luge. “There’s only three guys better than me today, and I’m very happy with that,” he said.
The most decorated man in luge, Georg Hackl, ended his career with a seventh-place finish. Hackl, 39, known as the “Racing White Sausage” for his round shape, failed to become the first Olympian to win six consecutive medals in the same sport.
And Anne Abernathy, the 52-year-old slider known as “Grandma Luge,” broke her right wrist during a crash in practice and might not compete. Tribune Olympic Bureau