From Igls, AUT
(December 8, 2024) – There are few things you can count on more than the Austrian men showing up for the men’s singles luge race in Igls. And once again it was a show of dominance by them, as Austria swept the top four spots on Sunday.
Jonas Müller took the lead in the first heat ahead of Nico Gleirscher, David Gleirscher, and Wolfgang Kindl. In the process of getting that lead, Müller set a new start record to match his track record from the previous year.
In the second heat, it was Kindl looking to wedge his way onto the podium. He took the lead from Germany’s Max Langenhan to secure a victory for Austria with his three teammates still to go.
One by one the Austrian men took to the ice and filled in the remainder of the podium spots. David Gleirscher, the 2018 Olympic champion, had many times before been off of the podium in the non-sprint events with seven straight finishes just off of the podium. He secured a medal as he finished ahead of Kindl with two to go.
Nico Gleirscher was up next. He had carried a small advantage over his brother as the second heat kicked off, but a nearly flawless slide put the younger Gleirscher brother into the lead with just Müller yet to go.
Müller’s second start wasn’t quite as quick as his first, and while his slide looked to be clean, it didn’t match the speed that Nico Gleirscher had. Müller crossed the finish line in second place, .095 behind Gleirscher to secure himself a silver medal and Austria the top four spots on their home ice.
Nico Gleirscher’s gold was the second of his career, both of which have been in Igls.
“This is awesome,” Nico told FIL TV after the race. “The weather may not have been what we wanted, but we got the podium!”
For brother David, a podium was a bit of a relief.
“I”m really happy with my result,” he said. “My second run wasn’t so good, and there’s a big gap to the first two spots, but after seven races of missing it I’m happy to be on the podium.”
Despite missing out on the gold medal, Müller was thrilled with his performance.
“I’d had trouble with Curve 9 in training. Nico is super fast here and can risk a bit more with his sled, so I’m happy with my result. And I have the start record!”
Max Langenhan hadn’t been off of a podium in a World Cup race that he’d entered since St. Moritz in 2022. He was held off by the four Austrians but was the top non-Austrian finisher in fifth, just ahead of teammate Felix Loch, who rounded out the top six.
Jonny Gustfason led the way for the United States in 11th place. Tucker West placed two American sleds in the top 20 with a 20th place finish after a rough second effort. Teammates Matthew Greiner and Aidan Mueller finished 25th and 30th respectively to round out the American effort.
Australian Alex Ferlazzo finished 19th after a crash in the second heat dropped him from 16th.
Two races into the 2024/2025 World Cup season, Max Langenhan holds a nine point lead over Nico Gleirscher and ten points ahead of Wolfgang Knidl. Jonas Müller and Felix Loch round out the top five.
Results:
| Pos | Name | Nation | Bib | Start 1 | Start 2 | Run 1 | Run 2 | Total |
| 1 | Nico Glerischer | AUT | 15 | 5.366 | 5.371 | 49.615 | 50.098 | 1:39.713 |
| 2 | Jonas Müller | AUT | 6 | 5.299 | 5.355 | 49.595 | 50.213 | 1:39.808 |
| 3 | David Gleirscher | AUT | 17 | 5.384 | 5.404 | 49.715 | 50.451 | 1:40.166 |
| 4 | Wolfgang Kindl | AUT | 12 | 5.391 | 5.404 | 49.856 | 50.494 | 1:40.350 |
| 5 | Max Langenhan | GER | 14 | 5.369 | 5.378 | 50.086 | 50.315 | 1:40.401 |
| 6 | Felix Loch | GER | 13 | 5.370 | 5.382 | 49.973 | 50.449 | 1:40.422 |
| 7 | Dominik Fischnaller | ITA | 9 | 5.363 | 5.407 | 50.121 | 50.355 | 1:40.476 |
| 8 | Kristers Aparjods | LAT | 16 | 5.436 | 5.419 | 50.147 | 50.374 | 1:40.521 |
| 9 | David Nößler | GER | 5 | 5.369 | 5.378 | 50.044 | 50.511 | 1:40.555 |
| 10 | Timon Grancagnolo | GER | 23 | 5.390 | 5.403 | 50.357 | 50.620 | 1:40.977 |
| 11 | Jonathan Gustafson | USA | 8 | 5.426 | 5.428 | 50.336 | 50.670 | 1:41.006 |
| 12 | Leon Felderer | ITA | 2 | 5.412 | 5.433 | 50.435 | 50.702 | 1:41.137 |
| 13 | Jozef Ninis | SVK | 4 | 5.462 | 5.476 | 50.398 | 50.747 | 1:41.145 |
| 14 | Andriy Mandziy | UKR | 3 | 5.415 | 5.415 | 50.426 | 50.765 | 1:41.191 |
| 15 | Gints Berzins | LAT | 7 | 5.395 | 5.393 | 50.453 | 50.818 | 1:41.271 |
| 16 | Seiya Kobayashi | JPN | 1 | 5.396 | 5.390 | 50.567 | 51.085 | 1:41.652 |
| 17 | Kaspars Rinks | LAT | 24 | 5.449 | 5.458 | 50.577 | 51.180 | 1:41.757 |
| 18 | Lukas Peccei | ITA | 20 | 5.426 | 5.422 | 50.633 | 51.228 | 1:41.861 |
| 19 | Alexander Ferlazzo | AUS | 18 | 5.372 | 5.377 | 50.539 | 51.776 | 1:42.315 |
| 20 | Tucker West | USA | 10 | 5.378 | 5.356 | 50.567 | 52.878 | 1:43.445 |
| 21 | Marian Skupek | SVK | 21 | 5.446 | 50.635 | |||
| 22 | Svante Kohala | SWE | 25 | 5.455 | 50.707 | |||
| 23 | Anton Dukach | UKR | 11 | 5.484 | 50.769 | |||
| 24 | Valentin Cretu | ROU | 26 | 5.483 | 50.769 | |||
| 25 | Matthew Greiner | USA | 27 | 5.462 | 50.798 | |||
| 26 | Mateusz Sochowicz | POL | 19 | 5.415 | 50.823 | |||
| 27 | Rasmus Moberg | SWE | 22 | 5.466 | 51.149 | |||
| 28 | Alex Guffler | ITA | 28 | 5.450 | 50.759 | |||
| 29 | Eduard-Mihai Craciun | ROU | 29 | 5.474 | 51.113 | |||
| 30 | Aidan Mueller | USA | 30 | 5.516 | 51.231 |