USA Luge with Six Olympic medals on the Road to Beijing 2022

Lake Placid (FIL) The US luge team has won six Olympic medals, three silver and three bronze, since their Olympic debut at the 1964 in Innsbruck, AUT. Most recently at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, Korea, Chris Mazdzer won silver in the men's singles. 

At the XXIV Olympic Games in Beijing (CHN), which begin on 4 February 2022, the American showcase luger Mazdzer plans to compete in three disciplines (Mens’ Singles, Doubles and in the Team Relay). He would be the first luge athlete to succeed in this.
 
The US team is preparing specifically for the Olympic Winter Games. Head coach Robert Fegg reports: "We started training in mid-April and are happy that all athletes can train in Lake Placid. Training is going well, especially since our new start facility is almost ready and we can use several different start ramps. In the meantime, we are already in the final phase of preparations for the equipment. An Olympic season always requires special preparation. With the pandemic still ongoing, it reaches a new level in terms of everyone's safety."
 

The US team wants to start luge on ice in Russia. They are already scheduled to start at the end of September. Head coach Fegg plans further: "After a 7-day training camp in Sochi, we will travel on to Lillehammer and continue our preparation on ice, including participation in the Lillehammer Cup. Back in the U.S., we will wrap up preseason training with trips to Lake Placid and Park City before heading to China for international competition."
 
The coaching team has remained the same for the Olympic season than last winter. Fegg is very happy about this continuity in the coaching staff: "We have great coaches in Bengt Walden, Lubomir Mick and Bill Tavares and our national team physical trainer Matt Oakes is also an absolute asset to the team. Every single one of them has the knowledge and skills to contribute to the goals of our athletes."
 

Apart from small regular ups and downs, all the athletes have remained healthy in preparation. "Chris Mazdzer is in good shape after his first year without surgery and Jayson Terdiman has also recovered very quickly after his shoulder surgery at the end of last season. We hope nothing major happens and everyone gets a chance to focus on what's important," hopes Robert Fegg.
 
There don't seem to be any motivation problems. The USA World Cup team is basically already set: "Everyone knows what is at stake for them this season and they are training hard to give their best. We will have a few more races to officially confirm and prepare the team. Right now we have one race planned in Sochi and two races in Lillehammer, which will also give us an indication of where we stand compared to the other nations," says Fegg.
 
Seven EBERSPÄCHER World Cups up to Sigulda (LAT) on 8 and 9 January 2022 count as qualifying races for the US Olympic team. The head coach explains: "A points and level system will be used to select the athletes who will represent the USA in Beijing 2022. We will announce the Olympic team on January 11."
 

Overall, the US head coach sees his team in a difficult situation, but is sure that everyone will give their best: "We have a long and very difficult season ahead of us, especially for the North American athletes. There is a good chance that our athletes will be on the road from the beginning of November until the end of the Olympic Games". 

Due to the ongoing pandemic and travel restrictions, no World Cups will be held in North America during the Olympic season. Robert Fegg regrets this very much: "For us, this means that the Olympic qualification will be more difficult, as we will lose the home advantage in a race. For our families, sponsors, TV partners and the sport of luge in North America, this is a disaster. Looking at the mix of the bigger sliding nations, I do have the feeling that this is a big disadvantage for the US athletes, mentally and from a qualifying perspective. But as always, we will work with what has been thrown at us and make the best of it."

To a video showing the preparations in Lake Placid -> https://youtu.be/bST-wfN-8c8