4 minute read
Olympia again
Bei den Olympischen Winterspielen 2022 in Peking zählt David Gleirscher (re.) zu den Medaillenanwertern. So wie auch sein Bruder Nico (li.), der bei den Rennrodel-Weltmeisterschaften 2021 in Königssee Gold im Sprint-Bewerb geholt hat.
David Gleirscher (right) is one of the medal contenders at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. Just like his brother Nico (left) who won gold in the sprint event at the 2021 Luge World Championships in Königsee.
For the two world-class lugers David and Nico Gleirscher, the winter already started in April. Their preparations for the racing season are in full swing. Their goal is the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing and, of course, a medal.
It is late summer, David Gleirscher is sitting relaxed at the living room table. He has just returned from the training camp with the Austrian national luge team and is now enjoying the magnificent view of Neustift again.
IN TRAINING SINCE APRIL
He is asked again and again if he has already started training for the Olympics. “It always makes me laugh. We have been training for the new racing season since April”, confirms the 2018 Olympic champion in luge. Back then in Pyeongchang/South Korea it was a big surprise that the young Stubai ended up on top of the podium. Four years later, he is among the medal contenders at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. Just like his brother Nico who won gold in the sprint event at the 2021 Luge World Championships in Königsee. However, the two do not have the Olympic ticket in the bag yet. Because before they can think about the trip to China, they first have to go through the internal elimination in the Austrian National Luge Team. “We have three starting places at the Olympics, but we have five lugers who can all finish in the medal ranks. So there’s everything still to play for”, David explains the initial situation. That means total dedication for the two Stubai lugers in the nine World Cup races. They count as qualification for an Olympic starting place.
FIRST IMPRESSION: POSITIVE TESTING, MEASURING, CHECKING
The first World Cup stop this year is the new Olympic track in Yanqing near Beijing. David is one of the few athletes who were present at the evaluation of the track in 2021 and could already get his first impressions. “I think the track suits me. It’s easy to slide, but it’s hard to be fast. Because there are lots of lines and everyone has to find the best one for themselves”, is his first conclusion. The new Olympic track should suit the Austrian athletes, David hopes: “The sliding time is quite long at around 58 seconds. That’s not a disadvantage for us because we’re always quite fast in the lower areas.” The races are decided in the range of thousandths of a second. This means that even small mistakes are hard to make up for and attention must be paid to every tiny detail. “We don’t brake in the ice channel, so the start is crucial for success”, David explains. The start procedure is therefore practised over and over again during the preparation period: three weeks in the starting block, three weeks of specific exercises, three weeks of “paddling” (pushing with the fingers). Before training in the ice channel starts in autumn, the whole thing is repeated again. Training blocks and training camps for strength, speed, coordination, etc. are spread in between. The extreme performance density in the sport of luge makes the high amount of training necessary. Of course, the material also has to be right. After all, David and Nico race on absolute high-tech sports equipment. The top athlete travels to a race with two pods, four runners and five steels – a total of around one hundred kilos of luggage. “We have exact records of all training runs with time, temperature, weather, ice condition, etc. So we can make a good assessment of which combination might fit”, David tells us. But that is not enough. Tests, inspections and measurements are constantly carried out to
“The Olympic track is easy to slide, but it’s find the best material for each individual track. During the on-site training runs, the right set-up is then sought and adhard to be fast.” justments are made. “The faster the luge
David Gleirscher, Olympic is, the harder it is to steer. You have to champion 2018 in men’s luge find the right balance. This depends on the track, the external conditions and the personal condition”, David explains. Mental strength is also an essential factor for the Olympic competition, which will be held in four heats over two days. This is unusual for the athletes, because a World Cup race is decided in two runs held on one day. So it is important to keep up the concentration. “In Korea, it was not a problem for me. I hope I will also succeed in Beijing”, says David Gleirscher.
