Germany's Max Langenhan wins Olympic men's singles luge gold, with dominating performance

CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — A gold medal at the Milan Cortina Olympics weighs 506 grams, or just over 1.1 pounds. It's a fairly heavy necklace.

Sorry, Max Langenhan. The additional neck pain might be worth it.

Langenhan — a two-time defending World Cup overall champion from Germany who feared that he would have to withdraw from the men's singles competition in Cortina because of serious neck pain — became his country's latest Olympic luge champion on Sunday night by holding off Austria's Jonas Mueller and Italy's Dominik Fischnaller for the first of the 12 sliding gold medals to be awarded in these games.

“This thing’s really heavy, and I still have neck pain," Langenhan said. "And I think I’m getting more neck pain with having this on my neck.”

He finished four runs over two days in 3 minutes, 31.191 seconds. Mueller was second in 3:31.787 and Fischnaller got his second consecutive Olympic men's singles bronze medal by finishing in 3:32:125.

Langenhan posted the fourth-biggest winning margin in Olympic men's singles luge history.

USA Luge was paced by Jonny Gustafson, who finished 11th, while Olympic rookie Matthew Greiner was 20th for the Americans.

Among other notables: two-time Olympic gold medalist and current World Cup leader Felix Loch of Germany was sixth and Austria's Wolfgang Kindl — the only luge athlete in these Olympics competing in both singles and doubles — was eighth.

There's something fitting about Germany, Austria and Italy ending up on the medal stand. They're the only nations to ever win gold in men's singles at the Olympics — with Germany far, far, far ahead of the rest of that pack.

Germany — by various names — now has 12 of the 17 Olympic men's singles all-time luge gold medals. Italy has three, Austria the other two. That's it, even with all other nations spending more than a half-century chasing those three European sliding juggernauts.

Langenhan is the ninth German man to win the singles Olympic gold, and he beat serious contenders for this title. Mueller won the test event at Cortina's rebuilt Eugenio Monti track in November, while Fischnaller — the husband of longtime USA Luge women's star Emily Fischnaller, formerly Emily Sweeney — had the edge of being at home and was trying to match Armin Zoeggeler's feat from Turin 2006 and claim gold on Italian ice.

Dominik Fischnaller was mobbed by Italian sliders, all in white puffy coats, as he crossed the finish line. There was one blue coat jumping around in that mass hug as well; that would be his wife, who was wearing her U.S. colors for the occasion.

“It's so important for us, that we start this with a medal,” Dominik Fischnaller said.

The women's singles event starts Monday and finishes Tuesday. The men's doubles event is Wednesday, as is the women's doubles race — which is making its Olympic debut. And on Thursday, the team relay concludes the luge slate at these Olympics.

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

Italy's Dominik Fischnaller, center, celebrates winning the bronze medal as he arrives at the finish during a men's single luge run at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

From left, second placed Austria's Jonas Mueller, first placed Germany's Max Langenhan and third placed Italy's Dominik Fischnaller pose with their medals after the men's single luge competition at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Third placed Italy's Dominik Fischnaller pose with his medal after the men's single luge competition at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

From left, second placed Austria's Jonas Mueller, first placed Germany's Max Langenhan and third placed Italy's Dominik Fischnaller pose with their medals after the men's single luge competition at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Germany's Max Langenhan reacts after winning the gold medal as he arrives at the finish during a men's single luge run at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Austria's Jonas Mueller slides down the track during a men's single luge run at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

Italy's Dominik Fischnaller slides down the track during a men's single luge run at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

Germany's Max Langenhan waves as he arrives at the finish during a men's single luge run at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

A person holds a giant portrait of Germany's Max Langenhan in the finish area during a men's single luge run at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

HAVANA (AP) — Katia Arias buzzed with hope on Friday morning as she gathered at the gates of a prison on the outskirts of Havana, waiting with other families for their loved ones to be freed in one of the biggest prison releases by the Cuban government in years.

When her 20-year-old son Emilio Alejandro Leyva walked out of the doors of the detention facility with dozens of other prisoners, bags and a small release document in hand, she wrapped her arms around her son, who was detained for a robbery, for the first time in years.

“It has been so difficult, but today God has given me so much joy,” said Arias, 43, breaking down in tears. “Today, I feel so happy. This is how all mothers who will have their children released today should feel.”

The outpouring of joy from families comes the day after Cuba's government said it was going to release 2,010 prisoners in what it said was “humanitarian gestures” ahead of Holy Week; it wasn't immediately clear how many were released on Friday.

The release comes as the Cuban government navigates extreme pressure and a crippling oil blockade by the Trump administration, which has openly expressed the desire for regime change and the release of those arrested for protesting.

It was unclear whether any of the prisoners released Friday are among the 1,214 people activist groups say are imprisoned for political reasons in Cuba. The government denies holding political prisoners.

On Friday, detainees in the La Lima prison on the rural outskirts of Havana said they were woken up at 6 a.m. and heard their names called out. Hours later they were walking into the arms of loved ones awaiting them in front of blue prison gates.

The majority of prisoners interviewed Friday by The Associated Press were not serving time for political charges, though it's uncertain how many of those released were protesters — often charged with public disorder, contempt or terrorism. Many of the more than one thousand people the activist organization Prisoners Defended has registered as detained for political reasons were protesters from the 2021 mass demonstrations on the island, which were met with widespread arrests by the government.

Sporadic protests have broken out in recent months as the island sinks into a deeper crisis. In one March incident, protesters burned the headquarters of the communist party in central Cuba, leading to five arrests.

The lack of information over releases on Friday fueled frustration among human rights and opposition groups, who said the releases were a good sign, but fell short of real change.

“The government presents it as a humanitarian gesture toward prisoners, not as the release of political prisoners,” said Manuel Cuesta Morúa, leader of the Council for Democratic Transition in Cuba, the island’s main opposition platform. “By doing so, it mixes things up to avoid giving the impression that it recognizes political imprisonment in Cuba.”

The group has demanded a government amnesty law and says that people who were previously freed are often placed under house arrest or live under conditions where they can't speak freely.

During a previous release of 51 people in March, organizations monitoring prisons in Cuba noted that 22 had political motives in their cases.

The nongovernmental organization Justicia 11J wrote in a statement Friday that no partial release can be considered progress “as long as the criminalization of the exercise of fundamental rights persists.”

“Although every release represents immediate relief, especially for families, in a context marked by the severity of conditions in the country’s prisons … we warn that this gesture does not constitute a change in the repressive policy of the Cuban state,” the organization said.

The releases come as U.S.-Cuban tensions are running high. The Trump administration has suffocated the island by imposing an oil blockade, pushing the already stricken island to the brink, crippling hospitals and increasing the number of islandwide blackouts.

Cubans were offered a brief moment of relief this week when U.S. President Donald Trump said the government allowed a Russian ship carrying a nine to 10 day supply of fuel to the island. It wasn't clear if the Cuban or Russian governments made any concessions to allow the shipment to go through. A second Russian tanker is on the way.

Cuba periodically frees prisoners at key moments.

In January 2025, Cuba’s government released 553 prisoners as part of talks with the Vatican, a day after the Biden administration announced its intent to lift the U.S. designation of the island nation as a state sponsor of terrorism.

Cuba's government said Friday's release marked the fifth since 2011, and that it has freed more than 11,000 people.

Despite ongoing uncertainty, scenes of hope emerged outside the La Lima prison on Friday as families wrapped their arms around each other and a father planted a kiss on the head of his child swaddled in pink.

Damián Fariñas, 20, who has served the majority of his 2-year prison sentence for a robbery, was greeted by three beaming friends waiting for him on the street.

“This is freedom, a pardon, owing nothing to anyone. I’m heading out into the world,” he said.

Associated Press journalists Ramón Espinosa and Ariel Fernández contributed from Havana. Megan Janetsky contributed from Mexico City.

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

A pardoned prisoner kisses his daughter after leaving La Lima penitentiary in Guanabo, Cuba, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Emilio Alejandro Leyva, a pardoned prisoner, right, hugs his mother Katia Arias Mendoza after his release from La Lima penitentiary in Guanabo, Cuba, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Pardoned prisoners sit in a taxi to return home after leaving La Lima penitentiary in Guanabo, Cuba, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

A pardoned prisoner hugs a family member after being released from La Lima penitentiary in Guanabo, Cuba, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Damian Farinas, right, walks out of La Lima penitentiary alongside other pardoned prisoners after their release in Guanabo, Cuba, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)