US luge doubles team of Niccum-Joye clinch in Olympics, Grimmette-Martin still waiting

Niccum-Joye team earns luge Olympic berth

LILLEHAMMER, Norway — Christian Niccum and Dan Joye teamed to finish fourth in a World Cup luge doubles race Saturday, clinching spots on the U.S. roster for the Vancouver Olympics.

The entire U.S. Olympic luge team will be revealed next week. Three men, three women and two doubles teams will be heading to Vancouver. Besides Niccum and Joye, the other doubles team will be Olympic veterans Mark Grimmette and Brian Martin, or Matt Mortensen and Preston Griffall.

Austrian brothers Andreas and Wolfgang Linger, the 2006 Olympic gold medalists, won Saturday’s race. Christian Oberholz and Patrick Gruber of Italy took second and fellow Italians Gerhard Plankensteiner and Oswald Haselrieder took third.