CORTINA, Italy — Canada’s luge program reached a milestone moment on the Olympic stage on Tuesday, as both its men’s and women’s doubles sleds posted identical 10th-place finishes at the Olympic Winter Games in Cortina, marking a historic day for the sport and the national team.
The men’s pairing of Devin Wardrope and Cole Zajanski delivered one of their strongest performances in four years, finishing 10th in a highly competitive men’s doubles field. Moments later, fellow Calgarians Beattie Podulsky and Kailey Allan matched that result in the Olympic debut of women’s doubles luge, becoming the first Canadian team to compete in the event at the Games.
Wardrope and Zajanski were consistent across both heats on the 1,220-metre track at the Cortina Sliding Centre, executing clean lines and posting 10th-place times on each run. Their combined time of 1:45.906 capped off a week of steady progress and rewarded a pairing that had endured significant adversity leading into the Games.
“To be able to put down two of our best runs all week, and utilize the skills that we got from training, feels amazing,” said Wardrope.
The result was particularly meaningful for the 23-year-old driver, who spent much of the season sidelined with a serious shoulder injury. As recently as six weeks ago, Wardrope said his Olympic participation was far from certain.
“It’s so crazy to think we had no idea even last month if we could event compete today,” added Wardrope. “We have come such a long way in such a short amount of time.”
During Wardrope’s absence, Zajanski, also 23, stayed sharp by competing in singles, maintaining patience while waiting for his partner’s return. That preparation paid off on race day, as the duo delivered their strongest combined performance on the Cortina track.
“Devin deserves this for getting back and pushing through his injury,” said Zajanski. “We just kept progressing with better runs all week, and that happened again on race day with two pretty good runs. I’m just glad the race runs were the best we’ve ever had on this track, so I’ll walk away pretty happy here.”
Italy’s Emanuel Rieder and Simon Kainzwaldner claimed gold in front of a home crowd with a winning time of 1:45.086. Austria’s Thomas Steu and Wolfgang Kindl secured silver at 1:45.154, while Germany’s Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt rounded out the podium in bronze at 1:45.176.
Canada’s presence in the top 10 was doubled by Podulsky and Allan in women’s doubles, a discipline making its Olympic debut in Cortina. The Canadian pair has been sliding together for just one year, formed specifically in preparation for the inaugural women’s doubles event.
Nerves showed early, as a mistake near the top of the track in the opening heat proved costly.
“The first run wasn’t what we wanted. That massive mistake essentially cost us the whole race. It is not how we wanted to start our Olympic career, but there are many more races to come, and we are ready to throw it down in the future,” said Podulsky.
The duo rebounded in the second heat, navigating the 15-corner track cleanly and showcasing the potential that has made them one of the most promising young sleds in the Canadian program. They finished with a two-run time of 1:49.482, closing their Olympic competition on a positive note.
“It was definitely a challenging day, but I’m glad we held it together for the second run and put down a great run,” said the 22-year-old Allan, who added the teammates and friends hugged it out, chatted and quickly reset between heats. “We are going to build on this now. We know what we need to do leading towards the next Games. I’m glad we ended it on a good note.”
Allan also reflected on the broader significance of the event’s Olympic debut.
“It feels great to have women’s doubles on the Olympic stage. Hopefully we were an inspiration for younger girls in the sport,” said Allan.
Italy’s Andrea Voetter and Marion Oberhoffer were crowned the first-ever Olympic champions in women’s doubles with a winning time of 1:46.284. Germany’s Dajana Eitberger and Magdalena Matschina earned silver at 1:46.404, while Austria’s Selina Egle and Lara Michaela Kipp captured bronze at 1:46.543.
For Canada, the matched top-10 finishes underscore steady progress and provide momentum for a program anchored by one of the youngest teams on the international circuit, as it looks ahead to future Olympic cycles with renewed confidence.
