Three-time Olympian Alex Ferlazzo has come close to securing his first top-10 of the World Cup season, but a crash late in his second run spectacularly ended his chances of a result in Altenberg, Germany.
 
The QAS slider made a great start on one of his favourite tracks where he finished an incredible fifth at last year’s World Championships, by placing third in the Nations Cup event, which doubles as a qualifier for the main World Cup.
 
In the World Cup, Ferlazzo had the eighth fastest first run in a time of 54.687 seconds, his highest placed first run position of the season so far.
 
In the second run, Ferlazzo was set for an even faster time, but a crash towards the end of the run, brought him to a complete stop just before the finish line, and recording a did not finish.
 
Before Ferlazzo fell, he was set for the sixth fastest time of the run and a potential top-eight personal best World Cup finish.
 
“Buzzing to be back on the podium in Nations Cup” said the 29-year-old from Townsville in Queensland.
 
“We changed things up in the sled and it feels right again. Thankfully the speed has returned with that change and it’s time to fine tune and get comfortable.
 
“Didn’t quite make it over the finish line in the World Cup but the timesheet doesn’t lie, and the speed is definitely back. Excited to take it elsewhere.”
 
Next weekend Ferlazzo will head to Winterberg, Germany, for a World Cup race on January 19.

Alex Ferlazzo has started the new year with a 17th place finish at the World Cup event in Sigulda, Latvia.
 
The three-time Olympian advanced to the World Cup via the Nations Cup pre event, where he finished fifth from 30 starters.
 
In the World Cup, the QAS slider was the first starter for run one, and made a strong start to have the 14th fastest time in 48.195 seconds.
 
In the second run, Ferlazzo had a few mistakes and finished in a time of 48.457 seconds which was the 19th fastest of the round.
 
Ferlazzo finished with a two-run time of 1:36.652 and a final ranking of 17th.
 
Taking the win 1.453 seconds ahead of Ferlazzo was Austrian Nico Gleirscher, second was Lavian Kristers Aparjods, and German Max Langenhan rounded out the podium in third.

Ferlazzo commented after the race

"I was happy with the first run!

"On the second I broke out into a skid down the bottom that pushed me back to 17th. Overall it’s movement in the right direction after that shocker of a first half.

"Altenberg up next! Looking forward to some smooth fast ice."
 
The next event for Ferlazzo is the World Cup in Altenberg, Austria, on January 11.

Three-time Olympian Alex Ferlazzo suffered an unfortunate crash at the Nations Cup event at the Luge World Cup event in Oberhof, Germany.

The Nations Cup event is the qualifier for the World Cup, and in his run Ferlazzo was easily on track to qualify sitting in fifth place towards the end of the track before crashing and recording a did not finish.

Ferlazzo will be back in action in the new year, competing in the World Cup event in Sigulda, Latvia.

Alex Ferlazzo has competed in the second event of the FIL World Cup season, finishing 19th in Innsbruck, Austria.

Ferlazzo qualified for the World Cup via the Nations Cup pre event, where he placed sixth from 31 starters.

In the World Cup competing in snowy conditions, Ferlazzo had the 16th fastest first run in a time of 50.539 seconds.

Unfortunately, in the second run in the snowy conditions where course officials clear snow after every five athletes, Ferlazzo was unluckily the fifth starter, so had the worst of the conditions, he had a fall at the bottom of his run sliding across the finish line, finishing in a time of 51.776 seconds, the 19th fastest of the round.

Ferlazzo’s two-run time was 1:42.315, which was 2.602 seconds behind event winner Nico Gleirscher of Austria competing on his home track.

Ferlazzo had solid hometown support at the event, with his mother and sister and friends in the crowd

“It’s not what I am after, but it’s the first run in a while where I felt like I was sliding well again” said the three-time Olympian from Townsville.

“Just going to carry this momentum into the next race and keep pushing it’s a lot of fun, especially having the family here.”

The next World Cup event for Ferlazzo will be in Oberhof, Germany, with the event to take place in December 15.

Three-time Australian Olympian Alex Ferlazzo has competed in the opening Luge World Cup event of the 2024-2025, finishing in 17th place in Lillehammer, Norway.
 
Competing on the 1994 Olympic Luge track, Ferlazzo had a great start in his first turn with the second quickest start of all competitors. He ended up with the 16th fastest time on his first run, finishing in 49.408 seconds.
 
In the second run, Ferlazzo again had a quick start with the fourth fastest opening section, and finished the run in 49.005 seconds which was the 15th best of the second round.
 
Overall, Ferlazzo had a two run time of 1:38.413 seconds, placing him in 17th, 1.075 seconds behind event winner Max Langenham of Germany.

After the race Ferlazzo commented

"The race was alright, I didn’t slide to my best and the track deteriorated with the warm weather.

"I’m super happy with the starts though."
 
Next up for Ferlazzo is the World Cup event in Innsbruck, Austria, on December 8.

Alex Ferlazzo has recorded a new World Cup personal best, finishing in eighth place at the FIL World Cup event in Sigulda, Latvia.

The result improves on his previous best of tenth, which he recorded earlier in the season in Whistler, Canada.

The three-time Olympian commenced his week in Sigulda by qualifying for the World Cup event in the Nation's Cup by finishing in fifth place.

In the World Cup event, Ferlazzo had the 11th fastest time in the opening round in a time of 48.557 seconds, and then improved significantly in run two to have the sixth fastest time of the round, finishing in a time of 48.023 seconds.

His two run time was 1:36.580 seconds, giving him a final ranking of eighth, 0.930 seconds behind event winner Felix Loch of Germany.

A sprint World Cup also took place in Sigulda, with Ferlazzo finishing in 14th.

Ferlazzo commented after his performance in Sigulda.

“I am happy with my result today here is Sigulda. The circuit has never seen it built like this before, wide open transitions and glassy ice on the most technical demanding track made for some wild racing.

“Eighth is my best World Cup result and even managed a PB down time!

“Looking to knuckle down and make the most of these track conditions for the last race of the season!"
A second World Cup will take place next weekend in Sigulda, the final event of the FIL World Cup season.

Three-time Olympian Alex Ferlazzo has competed in Oberhof, Germany for the second week of FIL World Cup action, improving to a 13th place finish.

Last week at the first World Cup on the German track, Ferlazzo finished in 22nd place in a race impacted by mild conditions and a deteriorating track which disadvantaged the athletes running later in the field.

Ferlazzo first took part in the Nation's Cup qualifying event on Friday, where he advanced through in fourth place, securing an early starting position in the World Cup draw.

In the first World Cup heat, Ferlazzo had the 13th fastest run before improving to the 12th fastest time in the second heat, and finished with a total time of 1:26.917, 0.884 seconds behind event winner Jonas Mueller of Austria.

The top-15 finishers from the main event also qualified to take part in the sprint World Cup in Oberhof held the next day, with Ferlazzo finishing in 14th place.

After the event Ferlazzo, reflected on his two weeks competing in Oberhof.

"It's a bit of a different one compared to last week event. Last week the weather made the race so ridiculous, but this week the ice actually held up, and I took the opportunity to test some things in the first few training sessions, but today

I just went back to what I knew, knowing the ice would be ok.

"Overall I am happy with my race, the speed was missing a little bit here, but I always seem to struggle finding it on this track in particular, but I am sitting in 13th and happy to snag a top-15 position."

"We have two World Cup events coming up on one of my favourite track in Latvia, I am really looking forward to it."

Three-time Olympian Alex Ferlazzo has created history at the FIL World Championships in Altenberg, Germany, recording Australia's best Luge result with an impressive fifth place finish.

The result is a breakthrough performance, improving on his previous personal best of tenth place achieved in World Cup competition earlier this season.

In run one Ferlazzo had the seventh fastest first run in 54.338 seconds, and in the second and final run finished in 54.440 which was the sixth fastest of all sliders.

His two-run time came to 1:48.805 seconds, placing him fifth fastest of all competitors, 0.992 seconds behind event winner Max Langenhan of Germany on 1:47.813, with Austrian Nico Gleirscher of Austria in second with Felix Loch, another German in third.

A thrilled Ferlazzo reflected on his PB and historic result.

"Fifth at Worlds, my best result by far!"

"The two weeks of training leading up to the race were horrendous to say the least. I honestly believe the support from family who made the journey over is what pulled me through."

"It’s incredible to see all the hard work paying off."

The luge athletes remain in Altenberg for a World Cup event next weekend.

Three-time Olympian Alex Ferlazzo has finished 11th at the World Cup event on the Igls track in Innsbruck, Austria.

The result sees Ferlazzo move up one place to be 11th on the World Cup standings, keeping him in the automatically qualified top-12 sliders and not needing to take part in the Nation's Cup qualifying round, which takes place at each event before the main race.

The 28-year-old finished his first run in 14th place in a time of 50.118 seconds, and in run number two improved to have the 11th fastest time in 49.993 seconds to give him a total time of 1:40.111 seconds, and a final ranking of 11th.

Taking the win 1.456 seconds faster than Ferlazzo was Austrian Jonas Mueller in a two-run time of 1:38.655 seconds.

The World Championships are up next on the calendar for the luge athletes, which will take place in Altenberg, Germany, from January 26-28.

Three-time Olympian Alex Ferlazzo has competed in the second FIL Luge World Cup of the season on the 2010 Olympic track in Whistler, Canada, finish in tenth place, a personal best finish for the Queensland slider.

The 28-year-old qualified for the main event World Cup after placing second in the preceding Nation's Cup competition.

In the World Cup event, Ferlazzo finally broke through for his first top-10, which has been so close in the past 12-months after multiple 11th place performances.

Ferlazzo had the 13th fastest first run time with 50.692 seconds, and then had an improved second run finishing in a time of 50.588 seconds which was the 11th fastest time of the round.

His two run total time of 1:41.28- seconds gave him a final ranking of 10th and his best World Cup finish.

Taking the win was German slider Max Langenhan with a combined time of 1:40.093 seconds, 1.197 seconds ahead of Ferlazzo.

The next World Cup event takes place in the new year on January 6-7 in Winterberg, Germany.

The opening luge World Cup for the 2023-2024 season has taken place in Lake Placid, USA, with three-time Olympian Alex Ferlazzo finishing in 11th place.

Ferlazzo made a great start to the competition in Lake Placid, easily qualifying for the World Cup start after placing third in the Nation's Cup event.

In the World Cup event, Ferlazzo had a great first run with the eighth fastest time, making it down the track in a time of 51.381 seconds.

Unfortunately on his second, Ferlazzo slipped back with the 15th fastest run in 51.86 seconds.

His two run total time of 1:43.250 seconds have him a final ranking of 11th, matching his personal best World Cup finish from last season.

The next World Cup event will take place in Whistler, Canada, on December 14-16.

He has started training with the Canadian team, but luge athlete Alex Ferlazzo has his sights set on a record fourth Olympic Games appearance for Australia at the 2026 Milano-Cortina Games.

The 28-year-old quips it’s nice to “be on both sides of the fence” and working with the Canadian luge squad in training, but he makes it clear where his loyalty will always lie when it comes to competition.

"It's surreal when everyone gets together and in the Aussie kit,” Ferlazzo says of representing Australia at the Olympic Games, “It's fantastic. I love it.”

Ferlazzo's unique and novel sporting story is that he grew up in Townsville, in far North Queensland, where it’s not unusual for temperatures to soar above 30 degrees celsius in winter. He took up luge at 15, by “luck of the draw” he explains, when his mum had a chance meeting in a pilates class with a former luge athlete who was spruiking the sport.

Ferlazzo lugged a wheeled training sled from Sydney to Townsville and started hurtling down the city’s iconic Mt Stuart.
This background is significant when you consider it in context of his new partnership with the Canadian luge squad. Over his athlete journey, Ferlazzo has gone from being somewhat of a sporting outlier to a highly respected competitor on the international circuit.

“I'm in partnership with the Canadian team now,” Ferlazzo says. “We’re working really well together, like the head coach and the sled builder in that team. We all get along, it's a fantastic relationship.

“It's a rebuild for myself, now training with them, but it's also rebuilding in their team and their Federation. So it's nice to be a part of that and be on both sides of the fence. I'm one of the old athletes in that group and that team. All the other athletes are young and I was brought over by the coach and sled tech, so it's nice to be on the athlete side and then also get a chance to see the coach’s and staff perspective too."

Australia’s first Olympic luge athlete, at the age of just 19, Ferlazzo has got better with every Games. He was 33rd in his Olympic debut, in Sochi 2014, 28th at PyeongChang 2018, then 16th in Beijing last year.

"It's tracking excellently,” Ferlazzo says of his start to this new Olympic cycle.

“The next world champs are in Altenburg, Germany [at the start of 2024] so that's the next big race for me. There's 10 World Cup races that I plan to go to next season and just keep it moving in the right general direction. The four year plan I wrote after the Games is going to plan at the moment, I’ve ticked all the boxes for the first part of the quad [four year Games cycle].”

Ferlazzo may be the first luge athlete from Far North Queensland, but he hopes he’s not the last. Last year he toured schools in Far North Queensland inspiring kids with his story.

“I was 15-years-old [when I took up the sport]. I was always up for an adventure, trying something new and also always quite athletic, and so it just kind of rolled on. I fell in love with the sport as soon as I tried it, and I’ve been pursuing it ever since.”

Three-time Olympian Alex Ferlazzo has competed at the 2023 FIL World Championships in Oberhof, Germany, taking part in the sprint and singles events.

Ferlazzo made a strong start to the event, qualifying for the 15-man sprint final in 13th place.

In the sprint final, Ferlazzo finished in 14th place in a time of 34.137 seconds, just 0.593 seconds behind Felix Loch of Germany in first place. 

The result was a personal best finish for Ferlazzo at the World Championships, with his previous best being a 24th in Innsbruck, Austria, in 2017.

In the singles event, Ferlazzo was having a solid run sitting in 13th place at the midway point of his run, but unfortunately crashed shortly after, sliding across the line in 29th place which ended his competition.

Alex Ferlazzo has headed to Latvia for the first Luge World Cup event of 2023, finishing in 26th place.

Competing on the Sigulda track, the three-time Olympian was heading for a good first run and was ranked 12th halfway down, but unfortunately had a crash shortly after, putting him in 26th place.

Ferlazzo recovered well in his second run, with the 16th fastest time of the round, but was unable to improve his overall ranking.

The luge athletes will remain in Latvia for another week, with a second World Cup event to take place in Sigulda on January 14-15.

Alex Ferlazzo has continued his great start to the season, with a strong week of competition in Park City, USA.

The three-time Olympian matched his previous best World Cup luge result of 11th from the week before, finishing 0.64 seconds behind winner Dominik Fischnaller of Italy.

Times from the event used for to rank the American-Pacific Championships, with Ferlazzo finishing in third place.

A sprint World Cup luge event also took place the following day, with Ferlazzo recording yet another personal best performance, with an impressive sixth place finish.
The luge World Cup tour is now set for a three week break, resuming at Sigulda in Latvia on January 7.

Alex Ferlazzo has commenced his World Cup season in style, recording a personal best 11th place finish at the World Cup event in Whistler, Canada.

The three-time Olympian warmed up for the event with a third place finish in the Nations Cup event on the same course a few days prior, and carried that form over to the World Cup.

In the first run competing at the venue from the Vancouver 2010 Games, Ferlazzo had the ninth fastest run with a time of 50.159 seconds. In the second and final run, Ferlazzo recorded a time of 50.345 which moved him back into 11th place overall with a two run time of 1:40.504, recording a new personal best performance.

Ferlazzo will now head to Park City, USA, for the next round of World Cup competition scheduled to take place on December 16-17.