Those who fail to qualify for the World Cup in Germany have no chance for the Olympics
Berchtesgaden (FIL) Since the Olympic debut of luge in Innsbruck in 1964, 48 Olympic gold medals have been awarded to Germany. A full 34 of them, i.e. about 70 per cent, were won by German luge athletes (GER, GDR and FRG). After the reunification of the teams of the GDR (German Democratic Republic) and the FRG (Federal Republic of Germany), the all-German Olympic team won 18 gold, ten silver and nine bronze medals at eight Olympic Winter Games, since 1992 in Albertville (FRA).
The opening ceremony of the XXIV Olympic Winter Games in Beijing (CHN) is scheduled for 4 February 2022. Team Germany is preparing for an extraordinary Olympic season. German luge head coach Norbert Loch has his national team start the Olympic season with a new qualification system. For the first time, the medalists of the 2021 World Championships are not seeded for the World Cup team. They also have to compete in four internal selection races on three German tracks and qualify for the team. The Olympic team will then be formed from the World Cup team.
Norbert Loch reports: "We want to keep the level of the World Cup qualification high, so for the first time we have not seeded anyone for a starting place. In the women's team, we would have already occupied three of the four starting places due to last year’s World Championship results, in the doubles two of the three places would already be taken and in the men's team there is one starting place. That would be difficult compared to the non-medal winners of the 2021 World Championships. I am convinced that the top athletes of the past years will also prevail in the qualification for this winter. However, we want to give everyone the confidence".
Traditionally, the regional bases in Germany prepare individually for the season. Even before the upcoming Olympic winter, there were only two central start training courses. Head coach Loch reports: "We got through the summer without any injuries or infections with the coronavirus and have a very good level of preparation, also with the athletes who are coming up.
On 29 September, the entire national team travelled to the first training course on ice in Lillehammer, Norway. After that, the team will stay in Germany for preparation and the qualification races.
"We are saving international travel for now. We will do the pre-season preparation and all qualification races in Germany. Of course, I hope that this will work out in Oberhof on October 11th, due to the big track reconstruction work. The fact that Königssee was cancelled hurts us a lot in the preparation. Hopefully we will be able to luge in Oberhof. That would be very important", says Norbert Loch.
After the fourth and last qualification race on October 28 in Winterberg, the World Cup team consisting of four women, three doubles and five men will be nominated. This team will fly to China for the International Training Week and the World Cup opener. Norbert Loch sums it up: "It will be a really tough season. If you don't make it to the World Cup, you won't make it to the Olympics. That will already be decided in autumn. For the others, the qualification will continue for the time being".
After the start of the EBERSPÄCHER Luge World Cup on the new Olympic track at the Yanqing National Sliding Center in China, the international luge teams will fly together as a group on a charter flight to Russia. The World Cups number two and three will then be held in Sochi (RUS) from 26 to 28 November and from 3 to 5 December 2021. Norbert Loch says: "We had set our sights on Whistler and Lake Placid as World Cup venues. In terms of sports policy, the decision for North America could not be made in the short time available and under uncertain conditions in the planning around the Covid-19 travel regulations. I have full understanding for this. The health and safety of the entire FIL bubble must always come first! I am now very much looking forward to Sochi. We want to present ourselves strongly as a team and redeem ourselves for the weak performance at the 2020 World Championships.
The Olympic qualification of the German national luge team will then be completed with the sixth EBERSPÄCHER World Cup in Winterberg on 2 January 2022. Head coach Norbert Loch confirms this goal: "We have seven qualification races for the Olympic team, two of them on the Olympic track in Beijing. After the sixth World Cup in Winterberg I would like to be done with the Olympic nomination"!
It will be exciting for the German team and internationally, the competition is fierce! Norbert Loch explains: "It will be very exciting because the big question is: who will be number one at the end? From my point of view, twelve men, six women and six doubles can compete for medals. Any one of them can end up on top with Olympic gold and that's what makes it so exciting! The best athletes who finish on top at the Olympics will be the ones who can adapt to the given conditions the quickest and thus prevail there.
Watch the video of the German Luge team in preparation on the #RoadToBeijing
