Veteran doubles luge slider Christian Niccum of Woodinville and his sliding partner, Dan Joye of Carmel, N.Y., qualifed for the 2010 Games today with a fourth-place World Cup finish in Lillehammer, Norway.

Here's the recap from USA Luge:

LILLEHAMMER, Norway - The United States Luge Team turned in its best World Cup performance of the season Saturday when the doubles team of Christian Niccum and Dan Joye, helped by thoughts of their respective families, raced into fourth place in Lillehammer, Norway and secured a nomination for a spot on the 2010 Winter Olympic team.

The achievement occurred in the final World Cup event to be used for U.S. qualification.

Niccum, of Woodinville, Wash., and Joye, of Carmel, N.Y., will be one of two doubles sleds slated to compete at the Whistler Sliding Center, site of the luge competitions in February's Vancouver Olympic Winter Games.

"It feels great to make the Olympic team," said Niccum, who was a four-time World Junior Champion and three-time World Cup race winner in doubles earlier in his career. "It was a battle that came down to the last race. We had to be on top of our game."

Niccum admitted later that he was propelled by a good luck charm - a photo of his wife and daughter in his helmet. "I've seen that before and it seems to work. We had to stay cool and calm and put down two good, clean runs. It seemed to work out."

The Vancouver Winter Games will be the second for both lugers, but their first time together.

"I was sweating bullets and couldn't sleep last night," stated Joye. "During the warm-up, I was thinking of my son and wife and that helped calm me down. All this training and all this sacrifice that I've been doing, it's come down to this race. I felt very confident that Niccum and I could drive the sled down."

Niccum and Joye join Erin Hamlin of Remsen, N.Y. as nominees to the Olympic Team. Hamlin, 2009 World Champion, secured her spot last week and brings the total to three athletes that have met the qualification criteria. Another seven will be named by mid-week. Each nation can qualify up to three racers in Olympic men's and women's singles.

The other doubles entry at the Games will be either Mark Grimmette, Muskegon, Mich., and Brian Martin, Palo Alto, Calif., or the sled of Matt Mortensen, of Huntington Station, N.Y., and Preston Griffall, of Salt Lake City, Utah. This will be determined by either a coaches discretionary pick or a race-off in Lillehammer on Wednesday.

Austrian brothers Andreas and Wolfgang Linger, 2006 Olympic gold medalists, captured their first race of the season with the two best heat times. They recorded 48.409 and 48.420 seconds and totaled one minute, 36.829 seconds down the 1994 Winter Olympic track. The Lingers improved to third in the overall World Cup standings with 290 points.

Niccum and Joye had the fifth best times of each heat, but their total of 1:37.141 put them right behind the medalists. They are 10th in the overall standings. Mortensen and Griffall clocked 1:37.743 for 12th place. Grimmette and Martin, struggling to regain the form that saw them take Olympic silver and bronze medals along with six World Championship bronze medals, placed 13th in 1:37.936.

Christian Oberholz and Patrick Gruber of Italy took second in 1:36.917. Teammates Gerhard Plankensteiner and Oswald Haselrieder picked up the bronze in 1:37.053.

German sleds finished fifth, sixth and eighth on a track where, over the years, they have spent very little time training.

Andre Florshutz and Torsten Wustlich, fifth in the race, remain in first overall with 325 points. Teammates Patrick Leitner and Alexander Resch, 2002 Olympic champions, wound up sixth and are second overall at 320.

Men's and women's singles races on Sunday conclude the Lillehammer program.