Alex Gough will have a farewell slide on her home track Saturday when CanadaB次元官网网址檚 most decorated luger announces her retirement.

The 31-year-old Calgarian was the first Canadian to win an Olympic medal in luge when she claimed bronze in womenB次元官网网址檚 singles in FebruaryB次元官网网址檚 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

That Olympic breakthrough preceded another two days later when Gough, Sam Edney, Justin Snith and Tristan Walker won silver in the team relay in Pyeongchang.

Gough was married in 2016 and is in her third year of civil engineering studies at the University of Calgary.

She hasnB次元官网网址檛 raced this season. Gough will make her retirement run prior to SaturdayB次元官网网址檚 womenB次元官网网址檚 competition at a World Cup in Calgary.

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B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 just diving into everything thatB次元官网网址檚 coming next for me and IB次元官网网址檝e been busy all summer, busy this fall,B次元官网网址� Gough told The Canadian Press. B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 pretty at peace with the decisions that I made.B次元官网网址�

In Canadian sliding sports, luge took a back seat while Canadians won Olympic medals in bobsleigh and skeleton through the 1990s and first decade of this century.

Canadians won an occasional World Cup medal in luge after the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, but Gough was the first to be a consistent medal threat and challenge GermanyB次元官网网址檚 domination.

She snapped a run of 105 consecutive wins by German women when she claimed her first World Cup victory Feb. 12, 2011 in Paramonovo, Russia.

Gough owns six world championship medals, including womenB次元官网网址檚 singles bronze in 2011 and 2013, team relay silver in 2013 and team relay bronze in 2012, 2015 and 2016.

SheB次元官网网址檚 won 27 World Cup medals in womenB次元官网网址檚 singles B次元官网网址� including three gold B次元官网网址� as well as another 16 World Cup medals in the relay with the doubles team of Walker and Snith and most often Edney as teammates.

B次元官网网址淚n a word, itB次元官网网址檚 definitely a legacy,B次元官网网址� Snith said. B次元官网网址淔rom the beginning of her career, she was always a fighter.B次元官网网址�

Walker believes GoughB次元官网网址檚 bronze in Pyeongchang paved the way for the relay silver.

B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 think we would have medalled in the relay if she didnB次元官网网址檛 medal in her race,B次元官网网址� Walker said. B次元官网网址淚t totally put the team into a mindset that was capable of winning.B次元官网网址�

Gough grew up in Calgary attending the National Sport School and training on the WinSport sliding track, which was the sliding venue for the B次元官网网址�88 Winter Olympics in the city.

B次元官网网址淪ince she started winning medals, we have mostly girls in our program,B次元官网网址� Luge Canada executive director Tim Farstad said. B次元官网网址淚t canB次元官网网址檛 be a coincidence.

B次元官网网址淵oung girls are saying B次元官网网址楢lex Gough, I want to go win medals like her.B次元官网网址� From recruitment all the way up, weB次元官网网址檝e seen a big increase in girls in the sport.B次元官网网址�

GoughB次元官网网址檚 ascendency and that of her teammates coincided with Luge CanadaB次元官网网址檚 2007 hiring of Wolfgang Staudinger from the powerhouse German system to be the head coach of the national team.

The Canadian team has also graduated 34-year-old Edney, who said in Pyeongchang the relay was his last slide.

Edney was the first Canadian man to claim a World Cup gold in 2015 when he was victorious in Calgary. He also collected a World Cup silver and a bronze in menB次元官网网址檚 singles during his career.

The CanadiansB次元官网网址� successes were not without setbacks.

Gough, Edney, Snith and Walker all finished fourth in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, just off the podium in womenB次元官网网址檚 singles, doubles and the team relay.

In the weeks before the 2018 Winter Games, they were briefly upgraded to relay bronze and dropped to fourth again when two Russians initially stripped of their 2014 results for alleged doping had that decision overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

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CanadaB次元官网网址檚 luge team anticipated a breakthrough at home during the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver and Whistler, B.C.

The death of Nodar Kumaritashvili of Georgia in a pre-Games training crash at the Whistler Sliding Centre shocked the luge community and prompted the moving of the start houses to lower points on the track for those games, which negated the home-track advantage for the host team.

Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press

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