Tongan luger, Bruno Banani, came in to win a surprise Bronze Medal at the inaugural America-Pacific Championship, held in Calgary, Canada on December 17.

The ranking was part of the Viessmann Luge World Cup contest, in which Bruno competing for the first time, finished in 26th place out of 32 lugers.

The Viessmann Luge World Cup was the main event, and the ranking was used to decide the medals for the Inaugural American-Pacific Championships for the lugers from the Americas and the Pacific.

Canada's Sam Edney ranked ninth in the cup, won the gold medal for the American-Pacific Championship, and US luger Isaac Underwood took the Silver.

Mathias Ihle, a member of Bruno's support group, reported from Calgary, that Bruno's bronze medal at the inaugural American-Pacific Championships was a "miracle" and it stunned luge experts. Bruno was introduced to luge in 2009, and since has the potential to become the first Tongan to compete in the Winter Olympic. He aims to represent Tonga at the Winter Olympic in Sochi, Russia in 2014.
Bruno qualified to compete in the Luge World Cup after he was placed in the 18th position in the National Cup competition in Germany earlier this month.