Race Director at Torino Olympic Games and overall World Cup champion

Reichenau (pps) Marie-Luise Rainer of Italy, former overall World Cup champion (1985-86) and Race Director for the luge events at the Olympic Winter Games in Torino will become Sport Coordinator of the International Luge Federation, FIL, as of the upcoming season. The FIL Executive Board nominated the four-time Olympian as successor to Germany’s Karl-Heinz Anschuetz on the occasion of the FIL Spring Meeting in Reichenau, Austria. Marie-Luise Rainer will train for her new job together with Karl-Heinz Anschütz until the end of September 2010.

It was Anschuetz’s own decision not to continue as Sport Coordinator. In 1995, Karl-Heinz Anschuetz officiated as a permanent Technical Delegate, later on as Sports Coordinator at all World Cup and FIL luge events. In this position Anschuetz played a great part in reducing the field of entries in the Viessmann Luge World Cup and strongly promoted the introduction of the very successful Team Relay event.

Marie-Luise Rainer, on sixth place at the 1984 Olympic Games in Sarajevo, took a bronze medal at the 1979 Worlds and a silver medal at the 1980 European championships. For many years, Marie-Luise Rainer officiated as permanent FIL Technical Delegate, TD, in the Junior World Cup.