Duncan Kennedy (luger)

Last updated
Duncan Kennedy
Personal information
Born (1967-12-20) December 20, 1967 (age 56)
Sport
Country United States
Sport Luge
EventMen's singles
Retired1997
Achievements and titles
Olympic finals Olympic rings.svg 1988 Olympic rings.svg 1992 Olympic rings.svg 1994

Duncan Kennedy (born December 20, 1967) is an American luger who competed from 1979 to 1997. He is best known for being the first American to win a Luge World Cup event when he won at the Sigulda track in November 1991 in the Latvia. Kennedy's best overall finish in the Luge World Cup was second twice, earning them in 1991–92 and 1993–94.

Competing in three Winter Olympics, Kennedy earned his best finish of tenth in the men's singles event at Albertville in 1992.

After retiring from competitive luge due to bleeding around the brain stem, Kennedy became a development coach for USA Luge, a position he still holds as of 2008. He was named a coach of the year for USA Luge in 2002.

During the 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics Kennedy served as a television commentator for the luge competitions for NBC Sports in the United States.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georg Hackl</span> German luger

Georg Hackl, often named Hackl Schorsch, is a German former luger who was three time Olympic and World Champion. He is known affectionately as Hackl-Schorsch or as the Speeding Weißwurst a reference to what he looks like in his white bodysuit coming down the luge at fast speeds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Benshoof</span> American luger

Antony Lee "Tony" Benshoof is an American luger from White Bear Lake, Minnesota who has been competing since 1990. He won three medals in the mixed team event at the FIL World Luge Championships with two silvers and one bronze (2001).

Gerda Weissensteiner OMRI is an Italian luger and bobsleigh pilot who competed from the late 1980s to 2006. Competing in six Winter Olympics, she won the gold medal in the women's singles luge event at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, and together with Jennifer Isacco she won the bronze in Turin in the two-woman bobsleigh at the 2006 Winter Olympics. She was the first Italian sportsperson to win Olympic medals in two disciplines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oswald Haselrieder</span> Italian luger

Oswald Haselrieder OMRI is an Italian former luger who competed internationally from 1988 to 2010. He achieved success at junior level, taking two bronze medals in singles and a gold in doubles at the World Junior Championships, the latter achieved in partnership with Dietmar Pierhofer. Haselrider and Pierhofer continued to compete together until 1995, when they split up and Haselrieder joined forces with Gerhard Plankensteiner. Haselrieder went on to win the bronze medal in the men's doubles event at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin after competing in three previous Winter Olympic Games: in 1992 in the singles event and in doubles in 1998 and 2002. He went on to compete in a fifth Olympics in 2010: he retired soon afterwards after sustaining an injury in training in March of that year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kurt Brugger</span> Italian luger and coach

Kurt Brugger is an Italian luger and coach who competed from 1987 to 2003. Together with Wilfried Huber, he won the men's doubles event at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer. He competed in four Winter Olympics: 1988, 1992, 1994 and 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wilfried Huber</span> Italian luger

Wilfried Huber is an Italian luger and coach who competed from 1985 to 2010. Together with Kurt Brugger, he won the men's doubles event at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer. He competed in both doubles and singles, but enjoyed his greatest success in doubles in partnership with Brugger. He made his debut in the Luge World Cup in 1986-87 season. He also took two medals at the World Junior Championships in Olang in 1988, a silver and a bronze. He competed in six Winter Olympics, in 1988, 1992, 1994, 1998, 2002 and 2006: he was aiming to compete at the 2010 Winter Olympics, however he was not selected by the Italian team's head coach Walter Plaikner, and retired at the end of the season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jens Müller (luger)</span> East German luger

Jens Müller is an East German-German luger who competed from 1985 to 2001. He won two medals at the Winter Olympics in men's singles with a gold at Calgary in 1988 and a bronze at Nagano in 1998.

Sergey Danilin was a Soviet luger who competed from the early 1980s to the mid-1990s. Competing in four Winter Olympics, he earned the silver medal in the men's singles event at Sarajevo in 1984.

Mark Grimmette is an American luger who competed from 1990 to 2010. Competing in five Winter Olympics, he won two medals in the men's doubles event with a silver in 2002 and a bronze in 1998. He was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Gerhard Gleirscher is an Austrian luger who competed from 1990 to 2000. He won a complete set of medals at the FIL World Luge Championships with a gold in mixed team (1997), a silver in mixed team (1991) and a bronze in men's singles (1997).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Möller</span> German luger

David Möller is a German former luger who competed from 2001 to 2014. He won six medals at the FIL World Luge Championships with four golds, one silver, and one bronze

Tobias Schiegl is an Austrian former luger who competed from 1993 to 2010. He won fourteen medals at the FIL World Luge Championships with five golds, five silvers, and four bronzes. He competes in doubles with his older cousin Markus.

Günther Lemmerer was an Austrian luger who competed in the early 1980s. He won the gold medal in the men's doubles event at the 1982 FIL European Luge Championships in Winterberg, West Germany.

Dan Joye is a Venezuelan-born American luger who has competed since 1995. Competing in two Winter Olympics, he earned his best finish of sixth in the men's doubles event at Vancouver in 2010.

Adam Eric Pothier is a Canadian luger who has competed since 1990. Competing in two Winter Olympics, he earned his best finish of fifth in the men's doubles event at Salt Lake City in 2002. He is a 6 time National Champion in the Doubles category. Pothier officially retired from the sport in January 2009.

Christian Elza Niccum is a retired American luger who has competed since 1996 on the World Cup tour. He was the alternate in 1998, coached for Canada in 2002, finished 23rd in the men's singles event at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin. Four years later in Vancouver, he finished sixth in the men's doubles event. At the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia he finished 6th as part of the US team in the team relay and finished 11th in the doubles with Jayson Terdiman.

Mark Hatton is a British luge coach and former luger who competed from 1997 to 2007, including two Winter Olympic Games: Salt Lake City 2002 and Torino 2006. He finished in 25th place in the singles event at the 2002 Games, the highest placed sledder without a track in their home country.

The men's luge at the 2010 Winter Olympics took place on 13–14 February 2010 at the Whistler Sliding Centre in Whistler, British Columbia. Germany's Felix Loch was the two-time defending world champion and won the gold medal with the fastest time in each of the four runs. The test event that took place at the venue was won by Germany's David Möller, who would win the silver medal in this event. Italy's Armin Zöggeler was the two-time defending Olympic champion and won a bronze medal in this event. The last World Cup event prior to the 2010 games took place in Cesana, Italy on 30 January 2010 and was won by Zöggeler, who also won the overall World Cup title.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luge at the 2010 Winter Olympics – Women's singles</span>

The women's luge at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada took place on 15–16 February at the Whistler Sliding Centre in Whistler, British Columbia. Germany's Sylke Otto was the two-time defending Olympic champion. Otto retired midway through the 2006-07 season in January 2007 to pregnancy and after suffering a crash at the track in Königssee, Germany. Erin Hamlin of the United States was the defending world champion. The test event that took place at the venue was won by Germany's Natalie Geisenberger. The last World Cup event prior to the 2010 games took place in Cesana, Italy on 31 January 2010 and was won by Geisenberger. Geisenberger's teammate Tatjana Hüfner, the defending Olympic bronze medalist, won the overall World Cup for 2009-10 season in women's singles.

The doubles luge event at the 2010 Winter Olympics was held on 17 February at the Whistler Sliding Centre in Whistler, British Columbia. Twenty teams participated. Austrian brothers Andreas and Wolfgang Linger, the defending Olympic and European champions, won the gold medal. The silver medal was also won by a pair of brothers, Andris and Juris Šics of Latvia. Germans Patric Leitner and Alexander Resch clinched the bronze medal after edging out Italians Christian Oberstolz and Patrick Gruber, who were in third place after the first run.

References