First ever YOG champion Miriam Kastlunger to retire

Miriam Kastlunger

Innsbruck (RWH) Austria’s Miriam Kastlunger, who became the first ever female gold medal winner in the luge at the 2012 Youth Olympic Games (YOG), has retired from the sport. The 24-year-old from Tirol announced her decision in Innsbruck.

"Following my shoulder operation in summer 2017 and the resulting health complications, I have come to the decision to end my career as an active luge athlete and concentrate fully on my professional career”, Kastlunger wrote in a statement.

Miriam Kastlunger, who finished fourth at the 2014 Junior World Championships, only just missed out on qualifying for her second Olympics last winter. “Various inconsistencies within the association also made my decision slightly easier.”

At the 2014 Games in Sochi, the former soldier finished 17th in the women’s event and 7th in the team relay. At the 2017 World Championships in front of a home crowd in Innsbruck-Igls, she finished in 8th place in the sprint event, which was the best World Championship result of her career. Kastlunger: “I will be starting the next phase of my life with a study programme in the field of medicine/health care."