CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- Germany's multiple-time world champion Max Langenhan won the men's singles luge gold medal at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games on Sunday, delivering a dominant performance through all four runs.
Langenhan led the field and bettered the track record of his own in each run at the Cortina Sliding Center, improving his time from 52.924 seconds in the first run to 52.902 in the second, then 52.705 in the third and a final-run record of 52.660 seconds, giving him a winning total time of three minutes 31.191 seconds.
"When I saw the result, I was so happy. I have the best fans in the world here. It's an absolute dream. I've met so many great people in this sport," said the 26-year-old.
Reflecting on his performance, Langenhan said the decisive moment came midway through the course.
"In the top part it wasn't actually that good, but from Tofane [one of the corners] onward, I started to sense what was possible," added Langenhan, who swept three titles at the 2025 World Championships.
Jonas Mueller of Austria secured the silver medal in 3:31.787, while Italy's Dominik Fischnaller claimed bronze in 3:32.125.
"I was pretty calm before the start and not too nervous. On the last run, getting through curve four was a very good sign. Curve 11 was decent, not perfect, and I had a big loop in curve 14, but I knew it would be enough for silver," Mueller said.
The women's singles competition will begin with the first two runs on Monday.
