Armin Zöggeler – The Legend of Luge

Cortina (FIL/25 Okt 2025) When talking about the greatest lugers of all time, one name inevitably comes up first: Armin Zöggeler. The South Tyrolean from Italy is not only the most successful Olympic luger of all time, but also a winter sports icon.

With a unique combination of precision, mental strength, and tactical flair, he dominated the ice track for over two decades. His sporting résumé reads like a chapter from a record book: six Olympic medals in six consecutive Winter Games – from Lillehammer in 1994 to Sochi in 2014.

These include two gold medals (Salt Lake City 2002 and Turin 2006), one silver (Nagano 1998) and three bronze (1994, 2010, 2014). No other athlete, in either summer or winter sports, has ever managed to win an individual medal in the same discipline at six consecutive Olympic Games.

The exceptional German luge athlete Georg Hackl came close. Hackl even won three Olympic gold medals in the singles (1992, 1994, and 1998), one more than Zöggeler. With Olympic silver medals in 1988 and 2002, Hackl has just one fewer medal than Zöggeler.

Zöggeler also set standards in the Overall World Cup: like his Austrian rival Markus Prock, he won the most important trophy in luge ten times. He celebrated his triumphs in the 1997/98, 1999/00, 2000/01, 2003/04 and from 2005/06 to the 2010/11 seasons – an era of dominance that made him the benchmark for future generations.

With 57 World Cup victories, Armin Zöggeler still tops the list of all-time winners. The German luger Felix Loch, who is still active, follows in second place with 52 World Cup victories. Zöggeler is nicknamed “The Cannibal” – a reference to his insatiable hunger for victory.

This ambition not only brought him Olympic success, but also countless World Cup and world championship titles. He is considered the epitome of consistency: in a sport where tiny mistakes can mean the difference between victory and defeat, he delivered almost flawless runs for decades.

With his successes, Zöggeler has also shaped Italy's Olympic medal tally in luge. With a total of 18 medals (7 gold, 4 silver, and 7 bronze), Italy ranks second in the all-time nation rankings behind Germany, which holds the top spot with 87 medals.

Today, Armin Zöggeler is much more than a former top athlete: he is a role model for generations of lugers, an ambassador for the sport, and proof that discipline, passion, and perseverance can lead to legendary status.