Christian Paffe first gold medallist in luge
Innsbruck (pps) Luge made its first Olympic appearance at the 1964 Winter Olympic Games in Innsbruck. 48 years later this racing sport has returned to its Olympic roots, and a new era has commenced in the history of the International Luge Association (FIL) with the first Winter Youth Olympics. Christian Paffe of Germany raced down the artificial track at the foot of the Patscherkofel to become FIL’s first ever Youth Olympics gold medallist.
The 17-year-old from BRC Hallenberg notched up best times in both runs, passing the finish line ahead of Latvia’s Riks Kristens Rozitis and fellow German Toni Gräfe. “I’m completely overwhelmed,” said Paffe. “What an amazing experience. I kept my cool between the two runs, but still tried to concentrate on the second heat.” His coach Steffen Wöller, former two-times runner-up in the doubles World Championships with Steffen Skel, describes his protégé as a quiet, but very ambitious athlete. “It rankles with him if he does something wrong. But he’s coming on, and it’s good to see that he can now also talk about his mistakes,” said Wöller.
Christian Paffe praised the excellent supporting programme at the Youth Olympic Games. “It’s such fun. We get on with the other athletes from all over the world,” said the young talent.
The organisers are providing the 14 to 18-year-old athletes with a wide range of cultural and educational events, with workshops on subjects such as career planning, doping prevention or environmental issues.
