New Life In Doubles For Dajana Eitberger With Magdalena Matschina

On the way to the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina

Cortina (FIL/06 Feb 2026) Dajana Eitberger and Magdalena Matschina have confidently achieved their first goal. “Qualifying for the Olympic Games is worth more than a medal,” says Eitberger. Because their German teammates Jessica Degenhardt and Cheyenne Rosenthal slipped up at the test event on the Olympic track in Cortina d'Ampezzo and were unable to compete in the race in Sigulda due to crashes and illness, Eitberger/Matschina qualified early. That provides certainty.

“When we go to the Olympic Games, I know what is required,” says Eitberger. The 35-year-old has gained enough experience in her long career to know what is at stake. “We have to deliver a consistent performance in competition,” she explains. The duo has been working on this not just since the start of this season, but since the summer. And front woman Eitberger, mother of a five-year-old son, takes care of her bottom woman, who is 15 years younger, almost like a mother. The latter gladly accepts this assistance.

After all, Dajana Eitberger has enough merits. In 2018, she won silver at the Olympic Games in Pyeongchang. In 2023, she became sprint world champion. After that, she switched sleds: doubles instead of singles. First with Saskia Schirmer, now in her second season with Magdalena Matschina. Matschina had already been competing in doubles for six years.

“My backpack is well filled with a lot of feeling and power,” is how Eitberger very colorfully describes the new experience she is having with Matschina. She has not regretted the switch from singles to doubles. “The new challenge has also added a lot of value to my personal development,” says the 1.80-meter-tall athlete, “much more than if I had continued spinning in the singles hamster wheel.” Instead of only being responsible for herself, the Thuringian, who has been living in Bavaria for many years, now also has to engage with a partner. “After 22 years of sliding singles, I had to change my mindset,” says the blonde. And Eitberger has to communicate. However, this comes easily to her, as she is naturally talkative and enjoys chatting. So much so that Magdalena Matschina sometimes has to speak up energetically. However, she also accepts the hierarchy: “To a certain extent, it's true that the top women is the boss.” Eitberger immediately disagrees: “It's not my intention to be the boss, I consider us to be on equal footing.”

But what kind of partnership is this? On the one hand, there is the experienced Olympic medalist from PyeongChang 2018 and mother of a son, and on the other, her partner, who is 15 years younger and still at the beginning of her career. “Despite our age difference, we have identical interests,” explains Eitberger. “We like to watch TV series, especially ‘Grey's Anatomy,’ and we are passionate about shopping and cooking,” adds Matschina. They usually eat pasta or pizza, which is fitting as they prepare for the Olympic Games in Italy.