A few months ago, the departure of toboggan inventor Georg Hackl was still a “huge loss”, but now there is calm. Much more urgent for the tobogganists is the question of the future of the bobsleigh run at Königssee.
It was the News of the summer in luge. The former model luger and technical trainer Georg Hackl moved to Austria. Germany lost its “toboggan professor”, the country’s most industrious sled inventor. The regret was great, Alexander Resch, chairman of the bobsleigh and luge association for Germany (BSD), described Hackl’s departure as “huge loss“. Finally, there was concern that Germany would have to fear for its supremacy in the ice channel.
A few months have now passed and the German team is much more relaxed about Hackl’s absence. “It’s not noticeable at all“said the 2014 and 2018 Olympic champion Felix Loch at the BSD press conference for the new season on Friday (November 11, 2022). “Christian Thurner has succeeded him. He’s been with us for a long time as the second mechanic. So far we definitely haven’t gotten any worse. There is something good in every bad thing.“
Loch looks to the future with confidence
Loch, who intends to continue at least until the 2026 Olympic Games, underlines this, because working with Thurner in particular shows a different perspective and new ideas emerge: “We also have one or two new approaches. So I’m very, very confident about the future.“
Incidentally, there are no bets between the two Upper Bavarians Loch and Hackl. The start of December for the lugers in the World Cup – with a home game for Hackl’s team in Innsbruck-Igls.
High expectations of Hackl in Austria
“It will certainly not be that easy for Schorsch either. Certain expectations are also placed on him that he must first meet. I’m excited to see how things develop there over the next few years“, finds Loch, who “is not afraid that the Austrians will drive us in the face“. Rather, he is looking forward to the start of the season – and that he will meet Hackl again on the track.
Otherwise, the 33-year-old is also looking forward to the races in North America, after a three-year break due to corona, the tobogganists are back on the road there. And the undisputed frontman of the Germans after the retirement of Olympic champion Johannes Ludwig says with a smile: “I’m lighter than ever. I think it fits quite well. Like every year, the preparations in the summer went really well.“
Berreiter and Taubitz set for women
The situation is similar for women: “It’s usually like this: Where we are is in front“, says Anna Berreiter, Loch’s club colleague from RC Berchtesgaden. Although the team is missing the pregnant Olympic champion Natalie Geisenberger as an experienced top athlete, Beijing silver winner Berreiter and Julia Taubitz are both also considered winners.
Artificial ice rink at Königssee destroyed – fewer training opportunities
In Lochs, Hackls and Berreiter’s homeland, people are not only concerned with the current season, but also with the future. Finally, the artificial ice rink at Königssee was destroyed in a severe storm last year.
For Berreiter and Loch this means: training is no longer on the doorstep, but in Innsbruck, Oberhof or Altenberg. “We are already a lot more on the road and fewer days at home“, says the 23-year-old Berreiter. “Normally we raced down there in top conditions, had high-quality runs that pushed us forward.“
Hope to return to Königssee in 2024
After the storm, the BSD managed its most successful season ever – with Olympic victories in almost all classes (except in monobob). However, training is still only possible in Winterberg, Altenberg and Oberhof, but not at Königssee. Athletes and those responsible emphasize in unison: “We need the track for professional sport, but also for young people.“Reconstruction is currently what worries you most at the BSD, but the construction site is still at a standstill.
BSD board member Thomas Schwab gave an insight into further planning on Friday. The Berchtesgaden district council will only decide in May next year whether construction can take place. The planned start of construction is then August 30, 2024.”But we are also planning an interim measure: that a repair measure be preferred“, explained Schwab. “Then we can be slightly optimistic that we can start sports operations in December 2024.“
A much more severe loss than Georg Hackl would be a possible end to his home track for the bobsleigh and luge association in Germany. After all, it’s not just about the tobogganing present, but also about the possible successors of Hackl, Berreiter and Loch in the future.