Tatjana Hufner half way to securing elusive Olympic gold

From Sportsbeat staff, in Whistler

 TATJANA Hufner is in pole position to follow in the footsteps of German compatriot Felix Loch and capture Olympic luge gold after setting the pace after two of the four runs in Whistler.

HALFWAY HOUSE: Germany's Tatjana Hufner is half way to completing a German Olympic luge double (Getty Images)

The 26-year-old arrived in Vancouver riding the crest of the wave, having put the finishing touches to her third consecutive overall World Cup title.

Hufner is not the only German with gold medal intentions and she was knocked off the top of the podium three times this season by compatriot Natalie Geisenberger.

But at the Whistler Sliding Centre - competing on a shortened track, following the tragic death of Georgian slider Nodar Kumaritashvili - it was Hufner who leads the way, with a combined time of 1:23.241 minutes.

"I didn't watch the men's events because I want to concentrate on me," she said. 

"If I do two good runs tomorrow and if I make Gold then maybe I can party with the men."

Surprisingly, it is Austria's Nina Reithmayer who is in second place, and who led after the first run following a blistering performance, despite never having won a World Cup event, with just two podium finishes to her name.

But she is just 0.050 seconds before 2006 Olympic bronze medallist Hufner, with Geisenberger third, a further 0.109 off the pace.

AS IT HAPPENS: Day four from the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver