Just before departure have the German bobsleigh and toboggan athletes and their coaches once again expressed their expectations for the 2022 Olympic Games in China. Together, lugers, bobsledders and skeletonists prepare for the Olympic adventure in Chiemgau. In small groups and with daily tests, attempts are made to prevent a corona outbreak shortly before the games. The two positive cases of Axel Jungk and Hanna Neise in the skeleton team caused additional uncertainty shortly before the start. In the German camp, people trust the Corona strategy and go into the competitions with full focus. Possible fake PCR test results you want to hide as much as possible and appeal to the good in sport, explains the chairman of the BSD Thomas Schwab.
Sporting Expectations
“There will certainly be no faster, higher, further this year,” says BSD boss Thomas Schwab. Four years ago there was still a medal record. This year it would be a success if you could achieve a similar result. A basic tenor that all coaches sign. It’s complicated conditions that you have to be careful with, but you still want to compete for medals. For national bobsleigh coach Rene Spieß, the night between the competition days is the main challenge. “It would be great if we could fight for medals in every discipline up to the fourth run.” That is his wishful thinking. Skeleton national coach Christian Baude also wants to stay in the race for medals for as long as possible. In addition, he would very much like to be the first men’s coach who can win a medal with his protégés.
Friedrich: “Being a flag bearer would be an accolade”
He has already won everything at the last Olympic Games and now another great honor is to come. Record bobsledder Francesco Friedrich has been nominated as flag bearer. For him that would be one of the greatest honors one can have. “It’s like being knighted when you can lead the German team into the stadium,” says the two-time Olympic champion from 2018. Tobias Wendl was also nominated. Carrying the flag would be one of the greatest experiences of his career, along with winning the Olympics.
location on site
Recently there has been a lot of discussion about the conditions on site and how to deal with possible corona cases. Above all the luge camp had to have bad experiences with the quarantine hotels last time. National luge coach Norbert Loch learned his lessons from the trip to China. They will be even more careful and precise and, if necessary, take photos for documentation, he explains. Doubles Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt hope that all competitors will make it to the games healthy and fit, also with a view to the competitive strength. “We want a really good flair internally, even if we don’t have any spectators,” they wish. Regardless of political criticism, all athletes in Beijing only want to concentrate on the sport and block out background noise.
unpredictability of the track
In addition to the fear of getting infected in the last few meters, there is also respect for a difficult track. “Every corner is different, one run can change the whole race.” gives Frederick concerns. His trainer also sees a challenging track where the race will be decided from curves 1 to 9. Skeletoni Christopher Grotheer is looking forward to a “mega track”. How the track has changed compared to the last time, you will only see on site.
Martin Czura