Dominik Filehner training in Cortina. © APA/afp / MARCO BERTORELLO

South Tyroleans impress in Cortina training

This weekend, the first medals in luge will be up for grabs on the new Olympic track in Cortina. The South Tyrolean athletes have made a strong impression in training.

February 05, 2026

From: dl

After an average season, Dominik Fischnaller seems to be hitting his stride just in time for the big highlight: In the first training runs on Wednesday, Fischnaller was among the fastest, finishing first and third. The following day, the Merano native followed up with another best time.

Fischnaller prevailed on Thursday with a time of 53,923 seconds, ahead of the two Austrians Jonas Müller (+0,017 seconds) and Wolfgang Kindl (+0,049). Germany's Felix Loch finished fourth. The other two South Tyroleans, Leon Felderer (6th) and Alex Gufler (10th), also finished in the top ten. Gufler will make his Olympic debut in Cortina.

Leon Felderer on the new Olympic track. © APA/afp / MARCO BERTORELLO

Further training runs will take place in Cortina on Thursday and Friday ahead of the weekend's competitions. The men's singles races will then be held on Saturday and Sunday, with the fourth and final run taking place on Sunday evening starting at 6:30 p.m. Fischnaller, who won bronze in Beijing four years ago, is among the favorites on his new home track.

Leon Felder also performed strongly

In the fourth training run, also held on Thursday, Leon Felderer set the fastest time. The South Tyrolean edged out Dominik Fischnaller by eight thousandths of a second. Austrian Wolfgang Kindl finished third, while Alex Gufler posted the eleventh fastest time.