Sascha Benecken

With over 20 major medals to his name, including Olympic bronze, and five World Cups, Germany’s Sascha Benecken is undoubtedly one of the world’s finest lugers. As part of a doubles team with Toni Eggert, he has won a major medal every year since 2012 except one, when he had to make do with a top-ten finish in the Winter Olympics and victory in two World Cup races.

Benecken was born in 1990 in the small German town of Suhl. It was here he met Toni Eggert and where the pair began preparing for world domination. After finishing tenth in their first senior World Championships during the 2010/11 season, Benecken and Eggert hit the jackpot the following season: They won bronze in the doubles at the European Championships, then, at the World Championships, won gold in the mixed team relay and silver in the doubles. From then on, the luge world was theirs, with victory after victory. After missing out on a podium spot at the 2014 Winter Olympics, Benecken and Eggert won bronze at the 2018 games in South Korea, finishing less than a second behind the eventual winners (also German) and helping to maintain their country’s outright dominance of Olympic luge.

2020 began with an incredible string of victories at the World Cup and World Championships, Benecken and Eggert triumphing in the doubles at both and being part of the gold-winning relay team at both as well. Now ten years into their senior career, neither Benecken nor Eggert show any sign of changing their winning ways.