The series winner returns to the ice chute: Luger Toni Eggert will start again next season, with a new partner and some goals.
The desire, motivation and ambition were simply too great: a good six months after his retirement, tobogganer Toni Eggert reverses the role and returns to the toboggan circus for the new season. The 35-year-old from Ilsenburg, who won (almost) everything there is to win together with Sascha Benecken in the doubles, will in future tackle the journey through the ice channel with 22-year-old Florian Müller from Oberwiesenthal. Müller has previously competed in singles and was part of the B team.
“We have to learn to toboggan together”
So it’s also a little experiment and risk for both sides. “We have to learn to toboggan and start together”, Eggert sums it up in the Sportschau interview. The second goal is the starting place in the World Cup. Only three German doubles qualify, the decision is made in internal eliminations. “If we do our job well, it’s realistic that we can make it”said the multiple world champion, who is only missing Olympic gold from his collection.
Is that a goal? “Of course. That’s what every athlete wants to achieve” says Eggert, but immediately follows up with: “But I wouldn’t say that we have to win gold in 2026 at any cost. On the contrary: Florian is still very young and it doesn’t have to be our last chance at the Olympics. We still have a few years left if we want that.”laughs Eggert, who trains in Oberhof.
Hackl and Demtschenko are the best examples
Tobogganers over 40 are not uncommon. Georg Hackl was still sledding successfully in his old age, and Albert Demtschenko was also on the sled in the World Cup at the age of 42. ““It’s all possible and the older you are, the more experience you have and that’s worth a lot in tobogganing.”says Eggert, for whom tobogganing will again play first fiddle in the future.
This is all possible and the older you are, the more experience you have and that is worth a lot in tobogganing.
After his retirement, he no longer raced through the ice track and didn’t train for almost a year. Nevertheless, he is in good spirits. Immediately after the decision was made and Müller said “yes” to the two-seater deal, Eggert started athletic training. Müller immediately changed his training. Muscle mass that he would have needed for singles is not necessarily a recipe for success in doubles.
Eggert: It hurt to watch
And amateur pilot Eggert, who can fly a Cessna and work as a flight instructor, is still hungry for success. After the successful doubles duo Eggert/Benecken announced their retirement in August 2023, he initially enjoyed the autumn without pressure and without a training plan, but “The very first time I had to watch the others sledding, it really hurt me“, says the 35-year-old.
Even last season – when it became apparent that Sascha Benecken would quit – Eggert wasn’t sure what his future would look like. At that time, thoughts of continuing to travel with a new partner were already circling in his head. He asked Florian Müller just for fun. “But we didn’t pursue it any further.”, he admits with a smile. The respect and the risk that things might no longer be as successful were too great, said the athlete who was used to success when he looked in the rearview mirror.
Gained valuable experience as a trainer
So Eggert resigned, took advantage of the time out and now speaks of a “interesting apprenticeship year to find out what I want to do in lifell”. It didn’t take him long to realize that his place on the sleigh was the right one. He gained experience in the American luger coaching team, knows what it feels like to swap roles and has respect for the coaching job. Eggert doesn’t yet know whether that can be his path later. This is music of the future. Now the comeback as a sledder counts and his entire focus is on that.