Josef Fendt to mark 25 years at the top of the FIL

Berchtesgaden/Ljubljana  (RWH) Josef Fendt is about to celebrate a very special anniversary. On June 25, 2019, the 71-year-old will have been President of the International Luge Federation (FIL) for exactly 25 years. The 1976 Olympic silver medallist and two-time World Champion was elected to succeed Bert Isatitsch in Rome on June 25, 1994. Austria’s Isatitsch led the FIL for a total of 37 years, from its creation in 1957 through to his death.

Following Isatitsch’s passing on February 8,1994, Fendt took on the role of acting President and has now become the longest serving president of an Olympic winter sports association. Switzerland’s René Fasel has served as President of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) since the federation's congress in Venice (June 7-11,1994). Norway’s Anders Besseberg had been President of the International Biathlon Union (IBU) since 1992 but was forced to leave the position in 2018.

At the 67th FIL Congress at Ljubljana Fendt received a certificate for his earnings. Under Fendt’s leadership, the FIL saw an additional discipline added to its Olympic program in the form of the team relay. Since its spectacular launch at the Olympics in Sochi (RUS), the mixed gender team event has become an integral part of the Olympic luge events. Fendt has stated that the “darkest hour” of his term in office was the fatal accident involving Georgia’s Nodar Kumaritashvili on the opening day to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada. Fendt was able to pull through this test.

And, as always, he did so by working closely with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and receiving a great deal of support from the former Secretary General Svein Romstad of the USA.  Since Romstad stood down at the 2018 Congress, Fendt has been supported by an equally loyal Secretary General, Latvia’s Einars Fogelis, who was previously Vice President for Technical Affairs for many years.

The FIL has had its own headquarters in the center of Berchtesgaden since summer 2017; the FIL office was first set up back in 1993 at Fendt’s initiative while he was the federation’s Vice President for Sport. Full-time administration of the FIL's affairs is one of the more visible signs of the global federation’s professionalization, a process in which Fendt has played an important role. Under Fendt's guidance, the federation has doubled its TV exposure, increased its presence in print media on an ongoing basis, and also achieved an extraordinary level of consistency in terms of sponsorship. Viessmann and Eberspächer have been FIL partners for over 25 and 15 years respectively.