The Winter Olympics in Beijing are just around the corner. For luger and J-athlete David Gleirscher, there is only one goal: to finish at the top.
Back to the year 2018. David Gleirscher from the Stubaital qualifies as a luge singles athlete at the last moment for the Olympic Games in Pyeongchang (KOR). The then 24-year-old has virtually no chance of a major success. Without ever having won a World Cup medal, he travels to Korea. The clear favorite for gold in the single-seater is Felix Loch. The double Olympic champion and 6-time World champion from Sonneberg (GER) seems unbeatable.
David beats Goliath
Gleirscher, however, is not impressed by this or by the demanding course at the Olympic Sliding Centre. On a little more than 2 km, more than 150 km/h are reached in parts and every driving error, no matter how small, costs time that can no longer be made up in the 1.40 m narrow ice channel. Gleirscher, however, already made friends with the course last year. At the dress rehearsal he set a course record.
In the first run of the competition Gleirscher continues exactly where he left off in 2017 and sets the best time on the ice. After runs 2 and 3, everything still looks like a title defense for the German hole before he commits a skiing error in the decisive 4th run. The rest is Austrian sports history. After a break of 50 years, David Gleirscher wins a gold medal in the single-seater for Austria again.
After that, everything is different. Lightning storms, interviews and a lot of attention are new territory for the reserved Tyrolean. He gets used to it, but doesn't lose his focus. Gleirscher finished the following World Cup seasons consistently in the top 10, his first World Cup victory followed in 2020 and he took bronze at the 2021 World Championships.
"I'm speechless. What's happening right now is mind-boggling."David Gleirscher after winning the gold medal 2018
Water from China
Now the Olympic Games in Beijing are just around the corner. Gleirscher and his coaching team have done everything it takes to repeat the success from 2018. Sophisticated athletic training, coupled with coordination units and David's excellent body awareness, form the basis for medals. But the team around the defending champion goes even further. Using water samples from the Olympic track in Beijing, the team and the University of Innsbruck are recreating the conditions on site in the laboratory in order to select the most suitable luge tracks. May the effort be rewarded.
We wish David and the Austrian luge team much success at the Olympic Games in Beijing.
