From Oberhof, GER
(January 15, 2022) – Johannes Ludwig broke the track record twice in Oberhof on his way to a .3 second victory over teammates Max Langenhan and Felix Loch as part of a German sweep of the podium in Oberhof.
Ludwig had the quick start in both heats, and had the quick split at every single split along the track on both runs to win the race by .304 over Langenhan. Loch was edged out by Langenhan in both heats to win bronze to close out the German sweep.
The track record was first lowered to 42.554, then to 42.515 on the second heat.
Austria took the next four spots in Austria, with Nico Gleischer leading the way in fourth place in what very well may have qualified him for the 2022 Olympic Games. Wolfgang Kindl and Jonas Müller rounded out the top six, while Olympic gold medalist David Gleirscher finished seventh.
Tucker West was the top finishing American in 19th place, two spots ahead of teammate Chris Mazdzer in 21st. Jonny Gustafson finished 24th. All three men qualified for the Olympics coming into the week’s event.
Reid Watts will be the lone Canadian men’s luge athlete in the Games, he finished 27th. Alex Ferlazzo finished 31st for Australia.
With his win, Ludwig also clinched the overall title with one race to go. Wolfgang Kindl, Felix Loch, and Kristers Aparjods will fight for second, third and fourth positions in St. Moritz next week.
Results:
| Pos | Name | Nation | Bib | Start 1 | Start 2 | Run 1 | Run 2 | Total |
| 1 | Johannes Ludwig | GER | 28 | 7.096 | 7.088 | 42.554 | 42.515 | 1:25.069 |
| 2 | Max Langenhan | GER | 22 | 7.159 | 7.105 | 42.714 | 42.659 | 1:25.373 |
| 3 | Felix Loch | GER | 32 | 7.116 | 7.117 | 42.721 | 42.664 | 1:25.385 |
| 4 | Nico Gleirscher | AUT | 27 | 7.181 | 7.164 | 42.727 | 42.754 | 1:25.481 |
| 5 | Wolfgang Kindl | AUT | 29 | 7.158 | 7.161 | 42.748 | 42.772 | 1:25.520 |
| 6 | Jonas Müller | AUT | 20 | 7.157 | 7.170 | 42.812 | 42.810 | 1:25.622 |
| 7 | David Gleirscher | AUT | 24 | 7.184 | 7.185 | 42.849 | 42.830 | 1:25.679 |
| 8 | Roman Repilov | RUS | 26 | 7.146 | 7.124 | 42.781 | 42.916 | 1:25.697 |
| 9 | Kristers Aparjods | LAT | 30 | 7.128 | 7.112 | 42.905 | 42.812 | 1:25.717 |
| 10 | Chris Eißler | GER | 18 | 7.148 | 7.190 | 42.795 | 42.923 | 1:25.718 |
| 11 | Semen Pavlichenko | RUS | 19 | 7.159 | 7.160 | 42.866 | 42.908 | 1:25.774 |
| 12 | Dominik Fischnaller | ITA | 31 | 7.146 | 7.179 | 42.921 | 42.865 | 1:25.786 |
| 13 | David Nößler | GER | 17 | 7.209 | 7.191 | 42.947 | 42.938 | 1:25.885 |
| 14 | Gints Berzins | LAT | 23 | 7.183 | 7.158 | 42.968 | 42.953 | 1:25.921 |
| 15 | Reinhard Egger | AUT | 15 | 7.211 | 7.222 | 42.922 | 43.000 | 1:25.922 |
| 16 | Leon Felderer | ITA | 13 | 7.246 | 7.237 | 42.964 | 43.083 | 1:26.047 |
| 17 | Arturs Darznieks | LAT | 16 | 7.194 | 7.221 | 43.018 | 43.051 | 1:26.069 |
| 18 | Pavel Repilov | RUS | 10 | 7.187 | 7.205 | 43.072 | 43.020 | 1:26.092 |
| 19 | Tucker West | USA | 11 | 7.193 | 7.187 | 43.004 | 43.164 | 1:26.168 |
| 20 | Kevin Fischnaller | ITA | 21 | 7.181 | 7.173 | 43.110 | 43.075 | 1:26.185 |
| 21 | Chris Mazdzer | USA | 14 | 7.219 | 7.242 | 43.048 | 43.180 | 1:26.228 |
| 22 | Matvei Perestoronin | RUS | 9 | 7.201 | 7.228 | 43.116 | 43.154 | 1:26.320 |
| 23 | Jozef Ninis | SVK | 8 | 7.307 | 7.279 | 43.207 | 43.156 | 1:26.363 |
| 24 | Jonathan Gustafson | USA | 4 | 7.181 | 7.206 | 43.152 | 43.226 | 1:26.378 |
| 25 | Aleksandr Gorbatcevich | RUS | 25 | 7.186 | 7.206 | 43.194 | 43.211 | 1:06.405 |
| 26 | Anton Dukach | UKR | 6 | 7.214 | 7.201 | 43.286 | 43.228 | 1:26.514 |
| 27 | Reid Watts | CAN | 5 | 7.260 | 7.270 | 43.291 | 43.380 | 1:26.671 |
| 28 | Lukas Gufler | ITA | 12 | 7.262 | 7.250 | 43.192 | 43.548 | 1:26.740 |
| 29 | Andriy Mandziy | UKR | 7 | 7.228 | 7.265 | 43.523 | 43.273 | 1:26.796 |
| 30 | Svante Kohala | SWE | 3 | 7.247 | 7.278 | 43.373 | 43.545 | 1:26.918 |
| 31 | Alexander Ferlazzo | AUS | 1 | 7.171 | 7.188 | 43.514 | 43.517 | 1:27.031 |
| 32 | Jozef Husia | SVK | 2 | 7.239 | 7.239 | 43.482 | 43.593 | 1:27.075 |
