CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — Germany has once again asserted its supremacy in Olympic luge, capturing the team relay gold medal at the Milan Cortina Winter Games on Thursday night. The victory extends Germany’s perfect record in the event since its Olympic introduction, maintaining an unbroken streak of four consecutive gold medals.
The championship team featured an assembly of individual medalists: women’s singles gold medalist Julia Taubitz, men’s singles champion Max Langenhan, women’s doubles silver medalists Dajana Eitberger and Magdalena Matschina, and men’s doubles bronze medalists Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt. Their collective effort secured the top podium position with a combined time of 3 minutes, 41.672 seconds.
This victory marks a historic seventh Olympic gold for the legendary doubles pair of Wendl and Arlt, comprising three doubles titles and four relay championships.
Austria claimed the silver medal with a time of 3:42.214, while host nation Italy delighted the home crowd by earning bronze in 3:42.521. Latvia finished fourth, followed by the United States in fifth place.
The competition concluded with a poignant demonstration by the Ukrainian team, whose six athletes all took a knee upon crossing the finish line. In a unified gesture, they raised their helmets skyward in tribute to compatriot skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych, who was disqualified earlier Thursday for wearing a helmet honoring those who have died in Ukraine since Russia’s 2022 invasion.
The team relay format requires each nation to complete one run with all four sled types (women’s singles, men’s singles, women’s doubles, and men’s doubles). Competitors must slap an overhead pad upon finishing to activate the starting gate for the next teammate or stop the final clock.
With this victory, Taubitz and Langenhan become the only double gold medalists in luge at these Games. Germany solidified its overall dominance with three golds among its five total medals. Italy collected four medals (two gold, two bronze), matching Austria’s count (three silver, one bronze).
The World Cup circuit continues with two remaining events in St. Moritz, Switzerland (February 28-March 1) and Altenberg, Germany (March 7-8), though participation levels for many teams remain uncertain.