Otto closes in on sweep

The dominant German women, who confiscated the podium four years ago in Salt Lake City, held on to the top three places after the first of Tuesday's final two runs.

The 36-year-old Otto, who has now clocked the fastest time in each of the first three runs, looks ideally placed to become the second woman to defend an Olympic luge title after East German Steffi Walter-Martin in 1988.

Otto was a relatively comfortable 0.357 second ahead of second-placed Kraushaar with Huefner in third position, 0.716 second off the pace.

The only non-German competitor still in contention for a medal before the final run scheduled for 1640 GMT was American Courtney Zablocki, who was in fourth place, 0.137 second behind Kraushaar.

Canada's Meaghan Simister left the Cesana track in an ambulance after crashing in Tuesday' penultimate run of the women's Olympic luge competition.

Simister, who crashed coming out of a curve on the bottom section of the treacherous course, appeared alert and conscious when she was taken away on a stretcher.

Austria's Sonja Manzenreiter, who was fifth after Monday's first two runs, also crashed in the first of Tuesday's final two runs. She did not appear to have sustained any injury.

Three competitors, American Samantha Retrosi, Anastasia Oberstolz-Antonova of Italy and Czech Marketa Jeriova, had crashed during Monday's opening two runs.

Retrosi was discharged from hospital on Tuesday after a scan showed no serious injury. Oberstolz-Antonova and Jeriova sustained only minor injuries.