Silvia Runggatscher took the victory in the women's competition. © Grubertechnik

Despite the weather: South Tyrolean victories in Latzfons

Europe's luge athletes met in Latzfons over the weekend in wintry weather to compete in the Grand Prix of Europe.

26 January 2026

From: pm

The organizers at the Lahnwiesen toboggan run had more to do than anticipated, as the relatively heavy snowfall on Saturday and Sunday was far from ideal for a toboggan race. The Latzfons organizing team, with a large contingent of helpers, ensured perfect conditions on and off the track, so that nothing stood in the way of fair and exciting competitions. The residents of Latzfons were particularly pleased that an athlete from the small village above Klausen took the victory.

Christian Torggler, who has been performing very strongly all season, capitalized on the cheers of the home crowd and cruised to victory. After lurking in the shadows after the first run, he upped the ante in the final and was the only man to pull away from his nearest competitor by more than just a few hundredths of a second. In the closely contested battle for the remaining podium positions, Tobias Müller had the pleasure of securing second place. Close behind him was another South Tyrolean, Sebastian Frei.

South Tyrolean dominance in women's and doubles

The podium was also an all-South Tyrolean affair in the women's and doubles events. Silvia Runggatscher from Villnöss was the fastest in the women's event. With two very strong performances and a new track record, she prevailed over Lara Peccei from Wengen/La Val and Hannah Tschurtschenthaler from Olang.

Patrick Lambacher and Simon Schwienbacher won the doubles competition. © Grubertechnik

In the doubles competition, Patrick Lambacher and Simon Schwienbacher were once again unbeatable (Lambacher's brothers Matthias and Peter won the gold medal at the European Championships in Alpine Luge at roughly the same time). Second place went to the new doubles team of the season, Pircher/Gruber from Tisens, who, had they not made a major mistake in their first run, would likely have been a serious threat to the winning duo. Two more doubles partners from Tisens, Mair/Müller, completed the podium.