Final push for Olympic tickets

Oberhof (RWH) There is now little that can stand in the way of Natalie Geisenberger clinching her sixth overall victory in the Viessmann World Cup, but other teams are involved in a final push for a ticket to the Olympic Games. Ahead of the Viessmann World Cup in Oberhof (GER) this weekend (January 13-14, 2018), a lot of teams are still trying to put together their Olympic squads.

By contrast, Natalie Geisenberger will officially receive her Olympic sportswear in Munich on Thursday. With her current lead of 192 points in the overall standings, she is in a serene mood going into the five remaining events in Oberhof, Lillehammer (NOR) and Sigulda (LAT). Her main focus is now on the Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang (February 9-25, 2018) in Korea.

There are plenty of athletes who want to compete, but the number of participants is limited. So in Austria, four men will battle it out for the remaining two Olympic tickets alongside World Champion Wolfgang Kindl. Armin Frauscher gave the best possible account of himself by finishing second in Königssee, while Reinhard Egger came eighth, and the Gleirscher brothers Nico and David finished in joint ninth place with the same time! Among the Austrian women, 17-year-old Hannah Prock currently has the best prospects, while Miriam Kastlunger, Birgit Platzer and Madeleine Egle are all still in with a chance.

In Italy, the young duo of Ivan Nagler/Fabian Malleier have shaken up the doubles event by finishing sixth (Altenberg) and seventh (Königssee). Suddenly the veteran pairing of Christian Oberstolz/Patrick Gruber are having to worry about making it to Olympics in their 21st World Cup season. Finally, Ludwig Rieder/Patrick Rastner got their season off to a flying start with second in Innsbruck and fourth in Winterberg. Simon Kainzwaldner/Florian Gruber, YOG Champions in 2012, now have little chance of qualifying.

Latvia is planning to name its Olympic team in Oberhof. Germany’s team, led by Sochi Olympic champions Natalie Geisenberger, Felix Loch and Tobias Wendl/Tobias Arlt, has already been selected. The USA, whose team is led by Olympic bronze medallist Erin Hamlin, and Canada have also completed their nominations.