Christopher Grotheer is the first German Olympic champion in skeleton. Axel Jungk contributes another medal with silver.
Olympic curse banished, dream of gold fulfilled: Christopher Grotheer was crowned the first German Olympic champion in skeleton with unbelievable rip-off and a huge lead.
With the historic triumph in front of his compatriot Axel Jungk, the world champion seamlessly continued the German rush of success in the “gold channel of Yanqing” after the four victories of the lugers.
None of this was to be expected, after all, no skeleton pilot from Germany had ever won an Olympic medal in the men’s category. The dry spell at the Winter Games in China ended on Friday evening – and how.
After the four runs, Grotheer’s advantage over Jungk was a comfortable 0.66 seconds. The Chinese Yan Wengang secured bronze, the third German starter Alexander Gassner took eighth place.
Grotheer: “If I drive well, I’m super fast”
For the 29-year-old Grotheer, who tried his hand at ski jumping as a child and only then fell headfirst down the ice channel, the gold coup is the highlight of an extraordinary journey. In the 2019/20 season, after poor performances, he was still in the European Cup, followed by a steep rise: World Champion 2020, World Champion 2021 – and now Olympic champion.
In China, Grotheer, whose character and driving skills are incredibly calm, was rewarded for a very consistent performance. “I don’t have to drive flawlessly to have a chance at all. If I drive well, I’m super fast,” the state police officer said with satisfaction after the first two runs. Even then his lead was 0.71 seconds.
The words of record world champion Martins Dukurs, who said at half-time that Grotheer was “number 1”, ultimately came true. The Latvian has to wait just as long for his long-awaited Olympic victory as the Chinese: In Yan Wengang, the host had specially trained a pilot for the 1615 m long ice track in the Xiaohaituo Mountains. The gold mission failed, but he could console himself with bronze.
Happy ending for Jungk after the Corona odyssey
That was also due to Jungk. He gave his personal Corona odyssey a happy ending himself. In January, the 30-year-old had tested positive for the virus, and even after arriving in Beijing, a positive result had almost shattered his dreams. About a week later, all the hardships paid off.
The German pilots want to imitate the men on Saturday. The conditions are good: Junior World Champion Hannah Neise is surprisingly on course for silver, World Champion Tina Hermann is on the bronze rank – and Jacqueline Lölling still has good chances of a podium as fifth. The German rain of medals in the ice track seems far from over.