Thomas Steu and Lorenz Koller: a third strong doubles pairing

Steu-Koller

Winterberg (RWH) Having previously been the U23 World Champions, Thomas Steu and Lorenz Koller (Photo, left) also have their sights set on the World Championship. According to Steu, it is their definitive goal. And Koller adds: “It would be best if we could do it this time round in Winterberg.” The 48th World Championships of the International Luge Federation (FIL) will be staged in the Hochsauerland region on 26 January 2019. And with two wins to their name this season (Innsbruck and Innsbruck Sprint), Steu/Koller are certainly amongst the favourites.

In their first year, the Austrian duo established themselves  behind Peter Penz/Georg Fischler, who won silver at the Olympics in PyeongChang, as the third force in the doubles alongside the dominant Germans Tobias Wendl/Tobias Arlt, the 2014 and 2018 Olympic Champions, and World Champions Toni Eggert/Sascha Benecken. With one exception – seventh in the BMW Sprint World Cup in Lake Placid – the combination featuring representatives of two Austrian states has always finished on the podium.

Steu, from Vorarlberg, and the Tyrolean Koller met just before the 2012 Youth Olympic Games in Innsbruck. “At that time the federation was looking for a doubles pairing”, recalls Koller. And we were put together because our physical conditions matched.” They took bronze in the Team Relay competition first time out. They finished fourth at the Olympics in PyeongChang, as they did the previous year in their home World Championships at the foot of the Patscherkofel. In 2017 the duo were part of the Austrian relay team that won European Championship silver in Königssee.

Steu/Koller fit neatly into the Austrian doubles tradition that was established by Josef Feistmantl/Manfred Stengl, the 1964 Olympic Champions. Later the Schiegl cousins Tobias and Markus became two-time World Champions, the Linger brothers Andreas and Wolfgang two-time Olympic Champions (2006 and 2010), and Peter Penz/Georg Fischler were Olympic silver medallists in PyeongChang, all continuing Austria’s success story in the two-seater. Steu/Koller are reviving the doubles event and making life difficult for the German duos.

The upturn in their downhill performance came before the start of the season in the form of a new sled which was actually an old one. Parts of the sled used by Penz/Fischler were recycled in the sled of Austria’s new flagship duo. “We’re getting on great with it and can maximise our potential”, is the reason given by the two army athletes for their noticeable improvement over previous years. They would be happy if the next stage of their success story came in Winterberg.