Edney roars to gold on home turf
Sam Edney was the calm eye of the storm in becoming the first Canadian man to win World Cup gold in luge.
He led after Saturday’s first heat, which was nullified by race officials because of “track conditions.”
With Canadian team officials agitated at the finishing dock below, Edney put on the helmet designed especially for him and the race.
He laid down an even faster time in the second heat to win on his home track at Canada Olympic Park.
The helmet depicting a snarling bear and raking claws had been presented to him a day earlier by 19-year-old artist Richard Flamenco, who has a rare incurable skin disease that causes painful blisters on fragile skin.
Flamenco stood with Edney at the finish line. Together, they watched as the remaining sliders fell short of Edney’s time of 46.146 seconds.
“There was a sense of calmness today with this helmet,” Edney said. “It’s hard to explain, but as soon as I put that helmet on, it felt like I had all this confidence and all this strength and I felt like I could put down two really good runs.”
It was both Edney’s first victory and World Cup medal of the Calgarian’s career. The three-time Olympian’s previous best result was fifth.
World Cup leader Felix Locht of Germany, who was fourth in the first cancelled run, finished second in 46.255. American Chris Mazdzer was third in 46.263.
Edney’s victory gave the host country four medals in the Viessman Luge World Cup Calgary across the three disciplines of men’s and women’s singles and men’s doubles.
Calgary’s Alex Gough and Arianne Jones took silver and bronze in women’s singles the previous evening. The doubles team of Tristan Walker of Cochrane and Justin Snith of Calgary also earned bronze Friday.
The Federation Internationale de Luge (FIL) introduced new sprint races this season in men’s and women’s singles and doubles. The clock starts lower down the track and the fastest to the finish wins.
The world’s governing body of the sport is testing the event, but is awarding World Cup points in it. The second sprint was held in Calgary with Gough winning the women’s race Saturday. Edney was third in the men’s sprint.
Gough made history in 2011 when she became the first Canadian to win gold at COP. Prior to that, the only Canadian medal there was Tyler Seitz’s bronze in 2002.
So, in addition to Edney making history in men’s singles, it was the most successful World Cup ever for a Canadian luge team. The performance lifted the cloud of Sochi hanging over the Canadians. They just missed winning the country’s first Olympic medal in luge three times with fourth-place finishes.
“The Olympics was a tough thing for us,” Edney said. “We knew we went in there the best we’ve ever been and we really wanted to prove to Canada that we are up there to compete with the best and we carried that through the summer.
“There were tough days out there, going to the gym and telling yourself you’re wanting to continue to push to be the best. I think all that hard work we’ve put in over the years is finally paying off.”
The plan was to auction the helmet off on www.Helmets4Heroes. com with the proceeds going to the Alberta Children’s Hospital. Edney might have a hard time giving up his lucky head protection now.
“To see my helmet on Sam and going down this luge was a miracle,” Flamenco said. “I was so happy to see my helmet on a big screen.”