Germany has won the team relay at the Luge World Championships in Lake Placid, N.Y., for the second consecutive time.

The team of Felix Loch, Natalie Geisenberger, Andre Florschutz and Torsten Wustlich easily bested the Austrian quartet of Daniel Pfister, Nina Reithmayer, Peter Penz and Georg Fischler at Mount Van Hoevenberg yesterday.

The Latvian team of Guntis Rekis, Maija Tiruma, and Andris and Juris Sics took the bronze. The Germans finished in 2:39.630, 1.510 seconds ahead of the Austrians.

The United States team of Erin Hamlin, Bengt Walden, Mark Grimmette and Brian Martin was sixth.

The Russians did not finish and Canada was disqualified.

• Speed skating: Sven Kramer clinched his third consecutive men's gold medal and Martina Sablikova won the women's title for the first time at the World Allround Speed Skating Championships in Hamar, Norway. U.S. skaters Trevor Marsicano and Chad Hedrick, a former inline skater from Texas who led a 1-2 United States finish in the previous worlds at Hamar in 2004, finished fifth and sixth, respectively, in the men's event. Kramer survived a tough challenge from Havard Bokko, who beat the Dutchman in the 1,500 meters on his home ice to set up a thrilling finale in the 10,000. Kramer, the world-record holder, won the race in 13:5.21, nearly six seconds ahead of Bokko. That gave Kramer 147.567 points in the two-day meet at the Viking Ship Olympic oval south of Lillehammer.

• Nordic combined: Magnus Moan of Norway won a Nordic combined World Cup event in difficult conditions in Seefeld, Austria, for his sixth victory of the season and 13th overall. Moan started the 10-kilometer cross-country race in 16th place but overtook race leader Mario Stecher of Austria in the final kilometer to finish in 29:18.8 seconds. Stecher, who won an event Saturday, was 3.2 seconds behind. Finland's Anssi Koivuranta took third, 33.7 behind Moan.

• Ski jumping: World Cup leader Gregor Schlierenzauer of Austria won his fifth consecutive ski jump event in Willingen, Germany, by edging Simon Ammann of Switzerland. Schlierenzauer had a big lead after landing by far the longest first jump, 144 meters. But Ammann, a former Olympic champion, later delivered the biggest jump of the day in the second series, soaring 145.5 meters. Schlierenzauer managed only 135, but finished with a total of 267.2 points. Ammann had 265.2.

• Downhill skiing: The women's downhill at the World Championships was postponed and rescheduled for today after up to 10 inches of snow fell on the Rhone-Alpes course in Val D'Isere, France. Officials initially delayed the start for an hour, then two hours before deciding they couldn't hold the race off. Forecasts called for 4 inches of snow, but 10 inches fell in some spots on the course, making it too dangerous.