From the vineyard to the ice channel
The luge story of Stephan Doktor
Oberhof (FIL/ 19 Jan 2026) Stephan Doktor could actually settle down and enjoy a comfortable life. The 53-year-old is the proud father of three children. Since 2008, he has been managing the traditional Schloss Johannisberg winery near Rüdesheim in the Rheingau region. But Doktor is missing something. Thrill. That's why, at the age of 42 , he rediscovered his childhood love of luge.
When the World Cup circuit stops in Winterberg or Oberhof, Stephan Doktor is also at the start. First of all, in the Nations Cup. All lugers who are not among the twelve best athletes in the world have to compete there. They are set to start in the World Cup. For Doktor, Friday has always been the end of the road for the speedy winemaker. This is not particularly surprising, as his competitors race under professional conditions.
“Of course, I don't get as many training runs as my competitors,” he says. But even his workload is enormous for an amateur racer. “If everything goes well, I go training once or twice a week.” To do this, he first has to drive 200 kilometers, either to Winterberg or Oberhof. Otherwise, he keeps fit with regular swimming, cycling, running, and strength training. “Some people think I'm crazy,” he says, adding with a smile, “Maybe I really am crazy.”
Doktor started competitive sledding at the age of twelve in his native Slovakia in the High Tatras. When he failed to qualify for the Olympic Games for the second time in 1994, he put his sled in the corner. Twenty years later, having since moved to Germany, he took out his old sports equipment and started competing in senior races. “I really enjoyed it again,” says Doktor, “also because I kept winning races.” Buoyed by his successes, he decided to compete internationally again. Because he had retained his Slovakian nationality in addition to his German one, he applied to the Slovakian association for a starting permit. He received it immediately.
Perhaps Stephan Doktor needs these crazy excursions into the fast-paced world of luge as a counterbalance to his challenging job as head of the Schloss Johannisberg winery. Since 1720, only Riesling has been grown on the 50-hectare vineyard. In 1816, Emperor Franz I of Austria gave this winery to his foreign minister, Prince von Metternich. In doing so, he recognized his achievements at the Congress of Vienna. Since then, the motto that Doktor, who studied at the Austrian Wine Academy, has committed himself to is: “Produce the best Riesling with passion and inspire people.”
He races down the ice channel with passion. He courageously pulls himself up to the top of the starting bar again and again. This is where world champion Max Langenhan and Olympic champion Felix Loch also start. “I'm not afraid,” he admits. However, he only races on his training tracks in Winterberg and Oberhof. And in St. Moritz. He describes the natural ice channel as a “very pleasant track.”
Stephan Doktor is not yet thinking about retiring from luge for a second time. “As long as my body, my employer, and my family are on board, I'll keep going,” he promises. As much as Doktor is passionate about sledding in the ice channel, his children did not enjoy their father's unusual hobby. “I tried everything,” he explains, “but it's too strenuous for them.” Or, as he suspects, “They're not as crazy as their father.”
