Hunt for a successor for Geisenberger and Hüfner begins

Berchtesgaden (RWH) It is the end of an era – Natalie Geisenberger and Tatjana Hüfner have dominated the women’s Viessmann Luge World Cup for the last 12 years. A new chapter is about to start, and the hunt is on for a successor to the two long-term winners.

Following Hüfner’s five straight overall wins (07/08, 08/09, 09/10, 10/11, 11/12), Geisenberger embarked on her remarkable seven-year winning streak (12/13, 13/14, 14/15, 15/16, 16/17, 17/18, 18/19). Geisenberger, the most successful luger of all time, will be sitting out the 2019/2020 season as she is expecting a baby. Hüfner, who won six World Championship golds in the women’s luge and one complete set of Olympic medals, has already retired from competitive action.

Geisenberger, the 2014 and 2018 Olympic Champion and six-time women’s World Champion, intends to continue her career after having her baby. “Provided that our child is doing well, and everything is going as planned, I intend to continue my sporting career in the pre-Olympic season – as things currently stand,” said Geisenberger. Similarly, Olympic silver medallist Dajana Eitberger is also planning to return to the ice track once she has given birth.

Five of the top six Olympic winners of 2018 will be missing this season – the German trio of Geisenberger, Hüfner and Eitberger, Alex Gough (2018 bronze medallist) from Canada, and former World Champion Erin Hamlin (USA), both of whom retired after PyeongChang. The two-time Olympic fifth-place finisher Kim McRae of Canada will not
compete this year as she continues her training to be a nurse. 

This would appear to pave the way for Germany’s Julia Taubitz, who performed well in the post-Olympic winter by clinching second place in the overall rankings and winning a World Championship silver medal. However, Germany’s head coach Norbert Loch is not piling on any undue pressure. “As a luge nation with high expectations, we now have to be humble and lower our sights a little. The transition will not be seamless.”

Also in the mix alongside Taubitz are the newcomer of the year in 2018/2019, Jessica Tiebel (20), Junior World Champion in 2015, 2017 and 2018 and silver medallist at the Youth Olympic Games in 2016, Cheyenne Rosenthal (19), the surprise winner of the Junior World Championships in 2019, and Anna Berreiter (20), winner of the international qualifying race for the Lillehammer Cup. “The new lugers are sure to bring plenty of enjoyment,” predicts Loch, but cautions that it will take time.

The USA’s Summer Britcher, the 2017 Under 23 World Champion and holder of the track record in the Alpensia Sliding Center in PyeongChang, also has a good chance of overall victory. The favorites include Russia’s three-time European Champion Tatyana Ivanova and the American Emily Sweeney, the World Championship bronze medallist from Winterberg.

Italian Sandra Robatscher, the surprise winner of the Altenberg World Cup last season, is not due to return to on-track action until 2020. The South Tyrolean is currently out of action following an operation on her shoulder. Austria is pinning its hopes on Madeleine Egle, who previously won Olympic bronze in the Team Relay, and Hannah Prock, who was part of Austria’s silver medal-winning squad in Winterberg.