After cleaning up the luge singles competitions, Germany now seeks to dominate doubles. Four years after PyeongChang 2018, pairs Tobias Wendl / Tobias Arlt and Toni Eggert / Sascha Benecken are still the clear frontrunners.
The Two Tobis, as they like to be called, won doubles gold in 2014 and 2018. Now both 34, they are still elite lugers – but perhaps no longer the best in the world. They have not earned a doubles title at the World Luge Championships since 2016, though they did score silver in the tournament’s 2021 edition. No luge doubles team has won three Games.
SEE MORE: Luge 101: Olympic History
Toni Eggert and Sascha Benecken, at 33 and 31 years old, picked up bronze at PyeongChang 2018. This quadrennial has seen some of their most impressive and consistent world championships results, with doubles gold from 2019 through 2021.
Just like in the singles competitions, Austria could prove a potential spoiler. 2021 World Cup overall champions Thomas Steu / Lorenz Koller, both 27, finished fourth at the last Games.
After five Olympics, Latvian brothers Andris / Juris Sics are approaching 40 and on the verge of retirement. Despite their age, they ranked third in the final standings of the 2021-22 World Cup series. The siblings won silver at Vancouver 2010 and bronze at Sochi 2014.
The Americans have a team, though not the one they expected. Chris Mazdzer, who recently finished eighth in the singles competition, and partner Jayson Terdiman missed out on the United States’ sole doubles berth in a dramatic World Cup finale. Instead, Olympic rookies Zach Di Gregorio and Sean Hollander – just 20 and 21 years old - will have the opportunity to strut their stuff.
SEE MORE: U.S. Luge roster for the 2022 Olympics: PyeongChang medalist Mazdzer in singles, not doubles
