Olympic venue gets luge racers up to speed

Members of the New Zealand luge team Josh Steele(left) and Andrew Scott, both of Kyeburn, have...
Members of the New Zealand luge team Josh Steele(left) and Andrew Scott, both of Kyeburn, have just returned from sub-zero temperatures in Canada. Photo by Gerard O'Brien.
The New Zealand luge team's Canadian training camp has been hailed a great success, with its four members all reaching speeds about twice as fast as they had previously achieved.

Andrew Scott (14) and Josh Steele (14), both of Kyeburn, Matheson Hill (15), of Dunedin, and Tyler Cathro-Carson (17), of Timaru, spent 14 days at Whistler, training on the track that was used in the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

They arrived back in New Zealand earlier this week.

The top speed at the boys' home track at Naseby was 60kmh, but at Whistler Tyler clocked 124kmh, Matheson 121.5kmh, Josh 118.5kmh and Andrew 112.6kmh, New Zealand Olympic Luge Association president Geoff Balme said.

"They all luged really well, testament to both themselves and the Naseby track," Mr Balme said.

Each boy had 50 runs of varying lengths down the steep track, the longest run being about 950m, he said.

Off track, coach and four-time winter Olympian Guntis Rekis, who represented Latvia, ran other forms of training and fitness sessions.

Mr Rekis is resident coach at the Naseby track.

Andrew and Josh went to Canada from a Central Otago summer, so the change in temperature was a shock.

It dropped to as low as minus 12degC.

"It was that cold it froze up the full-face visor on your helmet as you went down [the track]," Andrew said.

Mr Balme is hoping to build on the successful trip.

"I'd like to think we could have one, some, or all of them competing at junior world cup races due to be held in North America before the end of the year."

colin.williscroft@odt.co.nz

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