Italian team rallies for men's doubles gold in luge at Milan Cortina
Games, US falls short
[February 12, 2026]
By TIM REYNOLDS
CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — For Italy, it was a
double-gold night in doubles luge. And USA Luge made history, just not
the kind the Americans have been waiting forever to enjoy.
Emanuel Rieder and Simon Kainzwaldner of Italy rallied in the second
heat to win the Olympic men’s doubles gold medal at the Milan Cortina
Games on Wednesday night, finishing in 1 minute, 45.086 seconds. That
win for the home country came about an hour after Andrea Voetter and
Marion Oberhofer won the women’s doubles luge race. |
Italy's gold medalists Emanuel Rieder, left, and Simon Kainzwaldner,
right, celebrate as they arrive at the finish during a men's doubles
luge run at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy,
Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) |
|
“No words, I’ve lost my voice now," Rieder said. "I’ve been
screaming too much. I’m super happy.”
Thomas Steu and Wolfgang Kindl of Austria were second in
1:45.154 and Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt of Germany — the
back-to-back-to-back Olympic champions coming into Wednesday —
gave up their crown but still medaled, finishing third in
1:45.176.
They won gold in Sochi, Pyeongchang and Beijing, taking every
men's doubles gold at the Olympics since Andreas Linger and
Wolfgang Linger won the race for Austria at the 2010 Vancouver
Games.
For the U.S., Marcus Mueller and Ansel Haugsjaa — junior world
champions two years ago — were the leaders at the midway point
of the two-run race, making some Olympic history for USA Luge.
No American sled had ever had the lead in an Olympic race with
one run to go; for that matter, no American sled had ever held
the lead after any full heat.
But a mistake in the second run doomed their shot at giving USA
Luge its first-ever Olympic title, and they finished sixth in
1:45.293.
“We were feeling pretty good. It was just a small mistake ... it
was so close in the end,” Mueller said. “To do all that and be
sixth, you can’t be so unhappy.”
Zack DiGregorio and Sean Hollander of the U.S. were eighth in
1:45.467. Hollander raced on his 26th birthday.
“It’s tough when you put down two clean race runs, and you
expect it to have a little bit more speed," DiGregorio said.
"Didn’t find that speed today, but that’s part of the sport.”
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