02/11/26 02:23:00
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02/11 14:21 CST Italian team rallies for men's doubles gold in luge at Milan
Cortina Games, US falls short
Italian team rallies for men's doubles gold in luge at Milan Cortina Games, US
falls short
By TIM REYNOLDS
AP Sports Writer
CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) --- For Italy, it was a double-gold night in
doubles luge. And USA Luge made history, just not the kind the Americans have
been waiting forever to enjoy.
Emanuel Rieder and Simon Kainzwaldner of Italy rallied in the second heat to
win the Olympic men's doubles gold medal at the Milan Cortina Games on
Wednesday night, finishing in 1 minute, 45.086 seconds. That win for the home
country came about an hour after Andrea Voetter and Marion Oberhofer won the
women's doubles luge race.
"No words, I've lost my voice now," Rieder said. "I've been screaming too much.
I'm super happy."
Thomas Steu and Wolfgang Kindl of Austria were second in 1:45.154 and Tobias
Wendl and Tobias Arlt of Germany --- the back-to-back-to-back Olympic champions
coming into Wednesday --- gave up their crown but still medaled, finishing
third in 1:45.176.
They won gold in Sochi, Pyeongchang and Beijing, taking every men's doubles
gold at the Olympics since Andreas Linger and Wolfgang Linger won the race for
Austria at the 2010 Vancouver Games.
For the U.S., Marcus Mueller and Ansel Haugsjaa --- junior world champions two
years ago --- were the leaders at the midway point of the two-run race, making
some Olympic history for USA Luge.
No American sled had ever had the lead in an Olympic race with one run to go;
for that matter, no American sled had ever held the lead after any full heat.
But a mistake in the second run doomed their shot at giving USA Luge its
first-ever Olympic title, and they finished sixth in 1:45.293.
"We were feeling pretty good. It was just a small mistake ... it was so close
in the end," Mueller said. "To do all that and be sixth, you can't be so
unhappy."
Zack DiGregorio and Sean Hollander of the U.S. were eighth in 1:45.467.
Hollander raced on his 26th birthday.
"It's tough when you put down two clean race runs, and you expect it to have a
little bit more speed," DiGregorio said. "Didn't find that speed today, but
that's part of the sport."
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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
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