German Olympic luge champion Felix Loch won gold in the men’s individual competition Sunday at the Luge World Championships, beating veteran Russian Albert Demchenko.
Loch, 22, set a combined time of 1:47.332 over two runs at his home track in Altenburg, Germany, 0.328 seconds ahead of the 40-year-old Demchenko, who brought himself into contention for the silver with a strong second run.
Italy’s Armin Zoeggeler, the reigning champion, finished third, 0.414 seconds off Loch’s time.
The win continued a dominant season for Loch, who has won five of seven World Cup events so far.
Loch’s gold medal is his fifth at luge world championships, after he won the individual and team events in 2008 and 2009, and picked up a silver medal at the 2011 championships in Cesana, Italy.
