The newly built sliding track for the Milan/Cortina Olympics is controversial but the German team is aiming to turn it into another gold mine at the Games. German athletes have a long history of success in bobsleigh, luge and skeleton, and those teams could help the nation to another top three finish in the medal table envisioned by Olympic officials.
The newly built sliding track for the Milan/Cortina Olympics is controversial but the German team is aiming to turn it into another gold mine at the Games.
German athletes have a long history of success in bobsleigh, luge and skeleton, and those teams could help the nation to another top three finish in the medal table envisioned by Olympic officials.
Germany came second behind Norway at the 2022 Games in Beljing with 12 gold, 10 silver and five bronze medals. The sliding teams provided 16 of those medals, nine gold, six silvers and one bronze.
The sliding teams are ready again in a bid for more Olympic history but there are also other medal hopes.
Luge team
Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt defend a 100% record when they aim for a fourth straight double luge/relay gold for what would a career tally of eight golds from eight starts at four Winter Games.
"If all comes together we are in great form," they said after a 60th World Cup win recently in Oberhof.
Only three athletes have so far won eight golds at Winter Olympics, Norwegian cross country skiers Marit Bjørgen and Bjørn Dæhlie as well as biathlete Ole Einar Bjørndalen.
In the men's luge, Felix Loch also won in Oberhof in the men's event and seeks a fourth career gold at his fifth Games. "It has been a long time that I have been competing so well," he says.
Jacqueline Pfeifer, skeleton
Victory at the World Cup finals in Altenberg has further boosted the confidence of the 2018 silver medallist. Pfeifer has also won the first race on the Cortina track and says that "I am going to the Olympics with a good feeling."
Bobsleigh team
Francesco Friedrich is record world champions and has already made Olympic history with back-to-back two-man and four-man doubles 2018 and 2022. A triple-triple would only further cement his greatness but he could well be dethroned by fellow-German Johannes Lochner who won the World Cup in both events. Not to be counted out either is the third German team of Adam Ammour who recently won two events.
Gold in the women's events could also be a German affair, with Laura Nolte favourite in the monobob and the two-women event where she got gold in 2022. "I accept the role as favourite, that doesn't do any harm. We have been this so often over the years," she said confidently.
Emma Aicher, alpine skiing
The 22-year-old is more and more establishing herself among the alpine skiing elite as one of the very few remaining true allrounders. Aicher boasts one season victory each in downhill and super-g as well as two podiums in slalom, making her a contender in three disciplines.
Ramona Hofmeister, snowboard
Hofmeister won bronze 2018 in Pyeongchang and is a four-time World Cup champion in the parallel events. She was an unknown quantity after breaking her ankle, but two World Cup victories in a row make her the top challenger for Czech legend Ester Ledecka.
Vinzenz Geiger, Nordic combined
Germany have a long history of success in the sport twinning ski jumping and cross-country skiing. The 2022 gold medallist and reigning World Cup champion Geiger has returned to form in time for the Games to pose a serious threat for the rivals from Austria and Norway.
Minerva Hase and Nikita Volodin, figure skating
German medals in figure skating are rare but world championship silver medallists Hase and Volodin are serious gold medal contenders. However, in order to top the podium they must shake off some wobbles from the recent European championships where they also came second.
Category: General Sports
