Bogdanov & Prokhorov Win 1st World Cup Gold in Sochi

From Sochi, RUS

(December 4, 2021) – Andrei Bogdanov and Iurii Prokhorov won gold for the first time in their World Cup career on home ice in Sochi, edging out some of the best in the game to win.

The Russian duo managed to put down the two fastest runs of the race on their way to a .134 second victory over Germany’s Toni Eggert and Sascha Benecken. The Germans had the second quickest time in both heats and with that edged Latvia’s Andris and Juris Sics, who finished third.

The gold for Bogdanov and Prokhorov was the first in their career in doubles luge. They had previously won gold in Nation’s Cup qualifiers and as part of a Russian relay team, but never in a World Cup event by themselves.

Emanuel Rieder and Simon Kainzwaldner finished fourth, just ahead of Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt in fifth. Yannick Müller and Armin Frauscher rounded out the top six.

The race in Sochi was a replacement for the World Cup stop that had been scheduled for Lake Placid, and with that the race doubled as the 11th America Pacific Championship, a race within the race that’s competed by the North American and Oceana athletes.

Canada’s Tristan Walker and Justin Snith won the America Pacific championship with an 11th place finish in the race as the top North Americans in the field. Americans Mazdzer and Terdiman finished 13th in the overall competition and second in the championship, with Canadians Devin Wardrope and Cole Zajanski one spot behind them. The three teams all qualified for the Sprint World Cup on Sunday with their top 15 finishes.

The United States’ Zachary Di Gregorio and Sean Hollander finished 18th, while Dana Kellogg and Duncan Segger crashed on their second run and finished 24th.

Results: