Austria counters: “We will pull out all the stops…“
Altenberg (pps) When the luge and bobsleigh track in Altenberg hosted the first World Championships of the International Luge Federation (FIL) 16 years ago, the Austrian Federation returned home as the most successful nation. Thanks to the victories of Markus Prock (men’s singles), Tobias Schiegl-Markus Schiegl (doubles) and the team (Andrea Tagwerker, Angelika Neuner, Markus Prock, Markus Schmidt and Schiegl-Schiegl) the red-white-red athletes claimed no less than three gold medals in 1996.
But the hosts intend to turn the tables this time, perhaps even top it all. Norbert Loch, head coach of the German Federation (BSD) is going for all four gold medals at the 43rd FIL Luge World Championships (February 10-12, 2012). “It’s an exacting and ambitious goal - that much is true. But I think that we have top athletes in all disciplines. So, it might well work out,” said Loch.
However, the counterattack from Austria wasn’t long in coming: “We will pull out all the stops to thwart these plans,” explained Austria’s luge coach René Friedl, who was born in Thuringia, Germany. Friedl is pinning his hopes mainly on the doubles event. With two-time Olympic and two-time World Champions Andreas and Wolfgang Linger and the rather unpredictable team of Peter Penz and Georg Fischler, the Austrians will have two strings to their bow. Loch’s trump cards, on the other hand, are Tobias Wendl-Tobias Arlt and Toni Eggert-Sascha Benecken.
Bearing the predominance of Germany’s lugers in the Viessmann Luge World Cup in mind, it seems to be a foregone conclusion that Germany will take the podium’s top spots in the men’s and women’s singles as well as in the Team Relay Event. Headed by Olympic Champions Tatjana Huefner and Felix Loch, there are four German athletes at the top of the overall World Cup rankings in the women’s and men’s singles, respectively. And despite their rather unexpected defeats, Germany has already won the overall World Cup in the Team Relay Event.
