Luge World Championships in Canada: Felix Loch writes history, Max Langenhan wins gold

DER SPIEGEL Luge World Championships in Canada: Felix Loch writes history, Max Langenhan wins gold 5 hours • 2 minutes reading time Twelve medals in three days: Germany's lugers finished the World Championships in Whistler with an outstanding record. Felix Loch wrote history, while Max Langenhan was unstoppable even with a broken foot. Max Langenhan and Felix Loch crowned a memorable Luge World Championships with a double victory. In Whistler, Canada, Langenhan, 25, defended his title in the singles against veteran Loch. The 35-year-old overtook Italian luge icon Armin Zöggeler with his eleventh World Championship medal. "A dream day. In the end, it's just brilliant to be up there with Felix," said Langenhan, who secured his fifth and sixth World Championship titles despite a broken foot. "Sensational," added three-time Olympic champion Loch. »What more could we want?« For Loch, it was his only appearance at the World Championships; he had failed to qualify for the mixed relay in an internal elimination round. The new national coach Patric Leitner celebrated a perfect debut at his first World Championships: the German team won a total of twelve medals - five gold, four silver and three bronze. »Awesome, you can't get more than that. Those were really great days,« said Leitner. »I'm so proud of the whole team.« Team relay as a golden finale The World Championships had been expected with some uncertainty, Austria had proven to be a strong opponent over the course of the season. But on the 2010 Olympic track, where Loch had won his first Olympic victory, the athletes of the Bobsleigh and Luge Association for Germany (BSD) dominated. Langenhan and Julia Taubitz had already made a successful start on Thursday with gold in the mixed singles. Taubitz also triumphed in the singles; In the doubles, Hannes Orlamünder and Paul Gubitz surprisingly won their first title. At the end of the competition, Germany won the team relay ahead of Austria and Canada.