Germany’s Natalie Geisenberger clinched her third Olympic gold medal in women's luge, cementing her place in history as the greatest of all time in the sport.
Geisenberger finished with a four-run time of 3 minutes, 53.454 seconds in the women's singles Tuesday. Anna Berreiter, also of Germany, secured silver with a time of 3:53.947, and the ROC’s Tatyana Ivanova took bronze in 3:54.507.
“It's hard to compare Olympic medals because every one has its own history," Geisenberger said. “My first was very, very special because it was the first. Now I'm a third-time Olympic champion, but the first time as a mother. It's just great."
Falling short of top three, but ranking top five, were Austria’s Madeleine Egle and Hannah Prock. Lisa Schulte snagged the sixth spot for Austria, as well.
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Leading into the third run, Geisenberger held first, Berreiter second, Ivanova third, Prock fourth and Schulte fifth.
The same five women dominated the ice on their third runs, all remaining in their same standing.
Entering her final heat, Geisenberger had a lead of 0.330 seconds over Berreiter after the reigning Luge World Cup champion finished the third run with a time of 58.226 — a new track record.
Berreiter crossed the finish line with 58.348, to hold second place in her Olympic debut.
Ivanova, the defending bronze medalist, scored a 58.461, clinching third.
Ashley Farquharson was the top American finisher in her Olympic debut, placing 12th and moving up five spots after a strong fourth run.
“I just wanted to slide my little heart out," Farquharson said. “And I think that's what I did."
As for the rest of Team USA, three-time Olympian Summer Britcher placed 23rd and two-time Olympian Emily Sweeney came in at 26th, both of their chances ruined by crashes during Monday's opening night of the competition.
