Anke Wischnewski: “I’m a kind of haven of peace”
Koenigssee (pps) Eight long years or a total of 67 Viessmann Luge World events – that is how long she had to wait for the day to come. And the day finally came in Innsbruck-Igls on November 24, 2012. For the second time after the World Cup in Altenberg on November 13, 2004, Germany’s Anke Wischnewski claimed her second top podium finish at the season’s opener in Innsbruck-Igls (Austria).
But there was no sign of boisterous laughter or loud cheers. “I’m not one to squeal with glee. I’m more a kind of haven of peace. A mother for all,” said Wischnewski - at the age of 34 the oldest World Cup competitor - about herself and about her role in Germany’s team of female lugers, headed by her opponents Tatjana Huefner and Natalie Geisenberger. Simply due to the fact of the strong competition within the entire team, friendships are hardly possible. And if so, they rarely last long.
Wischnewski, however, is again and again part of Germany’s World Cup squad. Pleasantly laid-back and without talking big, Wischnewski has always claimed a starting place in the highest “luge league” in the past 10 years. During that time she collected a total of 32 third-place finishes and another eight second places - but only one other victory. That is until last Saturday when Wischnewski finally claimed her second gold medal.
“My big goal is the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi,“ explained the 2007 World Championship silver medalist, who posted a fifth-place at the Olympics in Vancouver. And then she added, with rather unusual boldness: “Well, by now I’ve had enough second and third places…”
