Back on the Perfect Line Through Willpower: Robatscher Sets her Sights on Cortina

Cortina (FIL/19 Nov 2025) In theatre, there's an unwritten rule: if the dress rehearsal goes badly, the premiere will be a success. Applying this to luge, the Olympic season could turn out quite well for Sandra Robatscher, despite the less-than-ideal signs in the summer and early autumn of 2025.

Nevertheless, Sandra Robatscher greets us with a radiant smile when we meet her in Cortina, where she is familiarising herself with the Olympic track for 2026. Qualifying for the Olympic competitions in Italy would mark her third appearance under the five rings. She finished 22^(nd) in Sochi in 2014, and 14^(th) in Pyeongchang four years later. However, she had to withdraw in 2022, which brings us to one of the athlete’s main concerns: her susceptibility to injuries.

Robatscher has undergone shoulder surgery no fewer than four times, but she feels in excellent shape after her most recent operation and is excited to speed down the ice track again. Unlike other athletes who might have given up after such a series of injuries, the South Tyrolean feels most at home whenever she sees a luge track. “I just really love luge — it’s a passion that won’t let me go.” This demonstrates her strong will and constant pursuit of improvement, supported by a fantastic environment. Her family and her partner, Klaus Malleier, motivate her, provide stability and calm her nerves. “I also find the distraction that you definitely need as an athlete when you're with them,” Sandra reflects.

And then there are her horses. Robatscher owns three mares. She was crowned “Haflinger Queen” in South Tyrol this year, which meant that she was able to represent the region at the World Championships in Ebbs, Austria. However, she fell off her horse during the entrance. 'It was a moment of panic because I feared I had injured myself again, but thankfully it turned out fine,' she says with a smile. Nevertheless, she has decided to take a break from riding for the time being. 'Luckily, my partner in Grissian — a small village above the Adige Valley where I now live — looks after the horses, so I can focus entirely on luge,' she explains.

The fall was merely an unpleasant episode — akin to a failed dress rehearsal. Training in Lillehammer didn’t go smoothly either: the weather was uncooperative and the ice wasn't particularly 'Italian-friendly' (they prefer it rock hard). ‘But you just have to work through it. I’m happy just to be able to start normally again, to be pain-free, and to be able to look forward to the Olympics with confidence.”

She likes the track in Cortina. She says it has its own unique touch; body position and equipment will play a major role, and that’s what the team is fine-tuning now. The “Azzurri” should allow themselves a bit of home advantage so they can deliver four precise runs into the ice channel in February.

Robatscher has stood on top of the World Cup podium once before, in Altenberg in 2019. The 30-year-old isn’t thinking quite that far ahead yet, though. But dreaming is always allowed...