Dethroning the king

Zoeggeler wins men's luge; three-time champ Hackl second

Armin Zoeggeler was second to Georg Hackl four years ago in Nagano. AP

PARK CITY, Utah (Ticker) -- There's a new king in Olympic luge but another medal in Georg Hackl's collection.

Hackl set a Winter Games record Monday by winning a medal in his fifth consecutive appearance but relinquished his stranglehold on the sport in front of a distinguished guest and 14,000 rowdy fans at Utah Olympic Park.

A long-time admirer of Hackl's, 28-year-old Armin Zoeggeler of Italy earned his first Olympic gold medal after finishing second to his German rival in 1998 and third in 1994.

"It was a long wait and a long way to this gold medal," Zoeggeler said. "It took a lot of power and energy, but now I'm really happy. It's really great to get the gold in front of such a crowd."

Zoeggeler, a police officer in his homeland, broke his own course record three times in four runs during the two-day event and won with a combined time of 2 minutes, 57.941 seconds.

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Hackl finished in 2:58.270 and had his gold medal string snapped at three Olympic competitions. He has sandwiched the titles with a pair of silver medals, claiming his first in 1988 at Calgary.

"Now two several medals will frame three gold medals," said Hackl, who dedicated the finish to his late father and stated he would compete for at least one more year.

Hackl finished second and first in his Sunday runs but showed signs of age Monday, posting just the sixth- and third-best times of the day, thanks to an ailing back that prevents him from starting strongly.

"I have my strong points and my weak points, and I know my start is my weak spot," he said.

Two-time silver medalist Markus Prock of Austria was close behind Hackl at 2:58.283, settling for the bronze medal in likely his final competition.

"I won the medal today, so what more can I ask?" said the 37-year-old Prock, who was fourth in 1998 at Nagano.

Adam Heidt narrowly missed out on his first Olympic medal but gave the United States its best-ever finish, placing fourth at 2:58.606. He was no worse than fifth in each of the runs.

 

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