Allendorf (pps) Even though the Olympic flame in Turin had already been extinguished, the fire kept burning in Allendorf only two days after the closing ceremony of the Olympic Winter Games in Turin. The company Viessmann, manufacturer of heating systems and main and title sponsor of the luge World Cup series, invited 500 guests from 15 nations to his "Olympic Welcome Party". Prominent representatives of sports and politics, among them Josef Fendt as the President of the International Luge Federation (FIL), got together at the hangar of Allendorf airport.

From the hands of Dr. Martin Viessmann, Georg Hackl, the most successful luge athlete of all times, received a purpose-built high tech wok for the upcoming WOK World Championships on the artificial track in Igls on March 11. The Wok World Championship is a fun event staged by a German television station, in which athletes slide on wok pans.

Besides Fendt and Hackl, the guest list included Anders Besseberg (Norway), the President of the International Biathlon Union (IBU), Volker Bouffier (CDU), the Hessian Minister of the Interior responsible for sports and numerous Viessmann athletes such as the Olympic Champions Sven Fischer (Germany), Pietro Piller Cottrer and Cristian Zorzi (both Italy).