Steu and Kindl, Voetter and Oberhofer take doubles crystal globes

Thomas Steu and Wolfgang Kindl finished third in Sigulda to clinch the crystal globe in the luge men's doubles World Cup while Andrea Voetter and Marion Oberhofer took the women's title.

Coming into the event with a 96-point lead, Austrian duo Steu and Kindl were already in a very strong position, and their third-placed finish in Sigulda was enough to take the title by 81 points from Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt of Germany.

The Germans finished second, with home pair Martins Bots and Roberts Plume victorious – a third successive win for the duo, who finished the season third overall.

On the women's side, Voetter and Oberhofer were in a similarly strong position and were able to clinch the crystal globe with fourth in Sigulda.

Jessica Degenhardt and Cheyenne Rosenthal took the win by 0.254 seconds from their German compatriots Dajana Eitberger and Saskia Schirmer, with Selina Egle and Lara Michaela Kipp of Austria completing the podium.

The victory pushed Degenhardt and Rosenthal up to second in the overall standings, but their Italian rivals finished 60 points clear to take the title for the second year running.

Meanwhile, in the singles events, Julia Taubitz leads at the halfway stage in the women's and Dominik Fischnaller for the men with those events coming to a close on Sunday in the final races of the World Cup season.

Sportsbeat 2024