Koenigssee (pps) After five of nine Viessmann Luge World Cup events the venture “successful title defense” seems to be a foregone conclusion for Natalie Geisenberger. The World Champion from Germany remained undefeated in the Olympic winter and ahead of her “home event” on the artificially refrigerated track in Koenigssee on January 4-5, 2014, Geisenberger leads the overall standings with a comfortable margin of 159 points. The upcoming Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia (February 7-23, 2014) are nevertheless Geisenberger’s declared aim. And even though she won everything there was to win in the pre-Olympic season and is, right now, in a class of her own in the women’s singles, she has her own standards: “My goal is a medal – whatever the color,” the bronze medalist of the 2010 Winter Games said quite modestly. However, neither the burden of being the top favorite nor a persistent cold stopped Geisenberger’s string of successes this winter.

Her training colleagues, the team of Tobias Wendl and the brand new dad Tobias Arlt, are the favorites in the Olympic doubles event. So far, the 2013 World Champions won four of the five World Cup events. They are heading the overall standings with a margin of 125 points, ahead of compatriots Toni Eggert and Sascha Benecken. The 2013 World silver medalists and European Champions are the only team to defeat Wendl-Arlt this season.

The decision in the Olympic men’s singles event promises excitement: Felix Loch of Germany showed some unexpected inattentiveness this winter. This is why the Olympic and four-time World Champion only claimed two podium’s top spots this season. Ahead of Loch’s “home event” on the world’s oldest artificially refrigerated track in Koenigssee, Italy’s Dominik Fischnaller, winner of the season opener in Lillehammer, holds second position on the overall standings, just 30 points behind Loch. David Moeller of Germany, last year’s winner in Koenigssee and silver medalist at the 2010 Olympic Games, is in third place 35 points behind Loch. Italy’s Armin Zoeggeler, who earned his 56th individual victory at the Viessmann Luge World Cup in Park City (USA), has 336 points to his credit and thus holds fourth position in the overall standings.

Since the World Cup in Koenigssee is traditionally carried out on the same date each year, the luger from South Tyrol has always had a reason to celebrate. This time, on January 4, it will be his 40th birthday – even though the two-time Olympic and record World Champion is far from joining the “scrap heap”.