Bots/Plume – embarking on their Olympic adventure with outside help and self-confidence
Men's doubles luge: 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina
Cortina (FIL/10 Feb 2026) Martins Bots and Roberts Plume are happy that they don't have to race down the ice track in Cortina d'Ampezzo until 2026. “The old track curves – they're really scary,” says Plume, grimacing, “they're really scary. Besides, the sleds are more comfortable now and I think they're also safer than they used to be. Back then, it was just a bumpy ride.”
The fact that the Pista Olimpica Eugenio Monti is based on an old track is a cool factor, says the 25-year-old Latvian, adding that the ice track at the Cortina Sliding Center has a nice rhythm and is challenging. He compares it to the tracks in Pyeongchang and Beijing. But Cortina is only similar. “Ultimately, it's unique,” says Plume.
The two Latvians also want to achieve something unique at the Olympic Games. “We only have one goal: we want to win,” explains Plume. Sometimes they wonder whether they might be too focused on winning. “Because when you want something too much,” muses pilot Bots, “you don't achieve your goal. We need to be more relaxed and try to do that.” Nevertheless, their goal remains unwavering: they want to become Olympic champions.
Why are the two Latvians so convinced of this vision? It's their view four years back, to the 2022 Beijing Olympics. “When we went to our first Olympic Games, we didn't want anything specific, we just wanted to be there,” explains Bots. Then things went unexpectedly well in Beijing. They narrowly missed out on medals, finishing fourth. Now they want to win a medal. Not just in the team relay, as in Beijing, when they won bronze with Eliza Tiruma, who has since retired, and Kristers Aparjods. “We've worked hard for this goal,” says Plume, “we have more experience. I think we're well positioned to achieve it.”
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has also played a significant role in ensuring that the Latvians are well positioned with its “Olympic Solidarity” program. In the cycle that is now coming to an end, they received support in the form of a scholarship. “We were able to attend training camps, book flights there, and stay in hotels,” explains Plume, “which helped us a lot. Thank you very much to the IOC for selecting us.” The most important thing, however, is the fact that they were able to improve their sled. At the beginning of their doubles career, Bots/Plume had difficulty fitting into the sled. This is because the two partners are similar in height. Obermann Bots is 1.85 meters tall, just three centimeters taller than Untermann Plume. He says quite honestly: “I'm too tall for a lower man.” But because they lacked the financial resources, they had to take an existing sled. “All these old sleds were built for lower men who were small,” explains Plume, “so it was very difficult for me to fit into the sled.” In the meantime, this has been remedied.
With eight World Cup victories, Bots/Plume are the second-best team among the Olympic starters. The Germans Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt are the undisputed leaders with 60 victories. The two Latvians have the utmost respect for their performance. “The Tobis are among the best in this sport,” says Bots, “They are approaching 40 and have the fastest start in the entire field. I'm not even 38 yet and I'm trying really hard, but we can't match their performance.” The strength of the Latvian duo lies in the track. “One of our strengths is our aerodynamics,” explains Plume, “we are really fast in the lower part of the track and can reach high speeds.”
Bots/Plume are the successors to Andris and Juris Sics in the Latvian team. The brothers won silver (2014) and bronze (2010) at the Olympic Games. Until their retirement after the 2022 Olympic Games, “we asked them a lot of questions and they taught us a lot. That was really helpful,” says Plume. Andris Sics is now Technical Director of Artificial Tracks at the International Luge Federation (FIL) and is therefore obliged to remain neutral. “Juris works for the Latvian Olympic Committee and supports us when we need technical advice.” How fortunate that Martins Bots and Roberts Plume were born so late.
