The podium of the two-seater race. © FIL

Slovaks crowned Junior World Champions for the first time

The 15th Junior World Championships in Alpine Luge have secured their place in the history books. Gabriel Halcin and Samuel Halcin from Slovakia won the Junior World Championship title in doubles on Saturday on the "Grantau" track in Umhausen, Austria. It is the first World Championship gold medal for Slovakia.

31 January 2026

From: pm

Gabriel and Samuel Halcin were considered big favorites going into the championships; the Slovaks had already won the gold medal at the Junior European Championships in Latsch (South Tyrol) in 2025, and had been on the podium in three of the four races held so far in the FIL Alpine Luge World Cup.

On the 955-meter-long natural toboggan run "Grantau" in the Ötztal valley, Halcin/Halcin achieved the best time in both runs, securing the gold medal with a total time of 2:38.03 minutes, ahead of the leaders in the Junior World Cup, Jakob Gruber Genetti/Alex Castiglioni (ITA/+1,30 seconds) and the Poles Wojciech Kwiecinski/Patryk Hudy (+4,36).

“This winter we focused exclusively on the FIL World Cup, so we weren’t familiar with the level of competition among the juniors. This title means a lot to us. Our runs weren’t perfect, especially in the first run where we drifted too much in some sections,” explained Gabriel Halcin. “We’re still missing a World Cup victory, but our big goal is the 2027 World Championships in Igls,” added Samuel Halcin.

Singles final on Sunday

In the women's singles, after two of three runs, Tina Stuffer (South Tyrol/2:27.92 minutes) leads by 0,76 seconds ahead of European Champion Nina Castiglioni (ITA) and Lotte Mulser (South Tyrol/+1,37 seconds). After the first run in the men's singles, Ziga Kralj (SLO/1:13.12 minutes) leads ahead of his brother Vid Kralj (SLO/+0,42 seconds) and Alexander Staffler (South Tyrol/+0,75).

The medal decisions in the singles event will be made tomorrow, Sunday, starting at 9:30 a.m.

Junior World Championships 2026 Umhausen

Top 3 doubles, men
1. Gabriel Halcin/Samuel Halcin (SVK), 2:28.03 minutes
2. Jakob Gruber Genetti/Alex Castiglioni (South Tyrol), +1,30 seconds
3. Wojciech Kwiecinski/Patryk Hudy (POL), +4,36