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Wendl-Arlt, Egle-Kipp win World Cup overall luge titles, Taubitz closes in on crown

ST. MORITZ, Switzerland (AP) — Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt of Germany clinched their seventh men’s doubles World Cup luge overall season title Saturday, while Selina Egle and Lara Kipp of Austria claimed the women’s doubles crown for the second straight season.

Wendl and Arlt were third in the men’s doubles race at St. Moritz, good enough to lock up the season title with one race left. Thomas Steu and Wolfgang Kindl of Austria won the race, with Italy’s Ivan Nagler and Fabian Malleier second.

Egle and Kipp didn’t even finish in the medals; they were fifth in the women’s race and still clinched their points title. Olympic champions Andrea Voetter and Marion Oberhofer of Italy won the race, with Elisa-Marie Storch and Pauline Patz of Germany second, followed by Anda Upite and Madara Pavlova of Latvia third.

In the women’s singles race, Olympic champion Julia Taubitz of Germany won on Saturday and moved closer to the overall points title.

Merle Fraebel of Germany was second and Verena Hofer of Italy was third. Taubitz now has a 19-point lead over Fraebel headed into next week’s finale at Altenberg, Germany, meaning a first- or second-place finish will clinch the title regardless of what anyone else does in the race.

Austria’s Hannah Prock was only 30 points back of Taubitz entering the race — but couldn’t slide on Saturday following an emergency appendectomy. Taubitz, Fraebel and Austria’s Lisa Schulte are the only women left with a mathematical chance at the title.

Summer Britcher of the U.S. was seventh in the women’s race, and is fourth in the world rankings. Britcher is the only USA Luge athlete competing in the World Cup this weekend.

Up next

Men’s luge World Cup on Sunday in St. Moritz.

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AP Olympic coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

NYPD says dozens rescued from human trafficking during World Cup

▶ Watch Video: Inside look at security preparations for World Cup Forty-three people, including seven minors, were rescued from human traffickers during the World Cup matches in the New York City area, according to the New York City Police Department's Special Victims Unit.The rescue operations were carried out between June 11 and July 19 by specialized NYPD detectives who arrested 89 individuals."The surprise was really the outpouring of support behind the mission and the collaboration with all our partners," said Inspector Gary Marcus, commanding officer of the Special Victims Unit.Those rescued, largely the victims of sex trafficking, are now being supported with an array of social services for the victims, including food, housing and counseling.The 87 operations carried out during the World Cup have generated new leads, officials said, and law enforcement agencies are building more cases based on the investigations already underway."We have ongoing investigations now as a result of these operations," an NYPD official told CBS News.Major sporting events are known to law enforcement as hotbeds of human trafficking.Years in advance, the NYPD devoted significant resources to preparing for the World Cup. Eight matches were played at New Jersey's MetLife Stadium, including the final on Sunday."When we talk about the outreach and the prep we do, a large part of that involved visiting the known sex offenders, particularly the known human traffickers, in our registry," Marcus said. "Whether they're on parole or probation for human trafficking, we visited them to make sure they're compliant with the terms of their release, and secondly, to let them know that the NYPD is watching."The matches were held in multiple cities around the U.S., Mexico and Canada. Preparations to secure those games and prepare for crimes like human trafficking were coordinated between local, state and federal law enforcement agencies.Police departments in many locations that hosted World Cup matches have made arrests and rescues connected to human trafficking, including in Georgia, New England and Missouri. Nationally, there were more than 673 arrests on human-trafficking charges made during the World Cup, and 61 adults and 13 minors rescued, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
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