Gold in luge. Yes, what else? It has become quite a habit in Germany at times of the Winter Games to set the highest standards and then not act surprised. For those who know for sure, things looked very different at the finish of the Yanqing ice track on Sunday. Cheers in the German camp, screams of joy when Johannes Ludwig crossed the finish line as Olympic champion. He had hardly thrown up his arms looking at the scoreboard when he was seized by the joy of the Germans, the trainers, supervisors, and above all their competitors Felix Loch (4th) and Max Langenhan (6th), who gave him an almost thrilling dynamism took in their midst. Yes, the statistics tell the story of luge as a sport in which many nations compete and the Germans win: in eleven out of sixteen men’s Olympic races since 1964. But none of that likelihood reflects the true excitement of China’s competition, which culminates in a loud cry of Ludwig: Jaaaa!
0.160 seconds difference between gold and silver, between the Oberhofer and his rival in this fight, the Austrian Wolfgang Kindl: In luge, that’s considered a respectable difference – in the World Cup over two runs. At the Olympics, it’s four to the finish. And a night full of pitfalls in between. If there is time to think about what is at stake, what could happen. Start record in heat one by Ludwig, lead melted to 0.035s in heat two. “It started all over again, it was a new race on Sunday,” says Ludwig. He exhales, relieved. The pressure is gone. Was there one? The Thuringian is 35. In 2018 he won bronze in South Korea, also because Germany’s Rodelstar Loch fell on the way to gold in the last round. “No, I have nothing more to prove, young athletes are much more dependent on success and failure,” Ludwig told the FAZ before the games.
The policeman has a family, two children, he is drawn to the water, also professionally later. Life isn’t just about cornering on the luge. But since 2016 he has also been one of the winners. And that season he dominated the World Cup, five wins in nine races. And then there was another chance to make the dream come true, the last one. Ludwig has experienced everything, some highs, some lows, missed Olympic qualifications, fourth place, doubts, now in his last Olympic moment the view of gold opens up, tangible like never before. No pressure?
“I can hardly believe it”
“I slept well, oddly enough I was more relaxed than yesterday,” says Ludwig about the night before the final, pulling the gold so beautifully on the back of his neck, but it doesn’t seem to be working yet. Everything happened too fast, the competition, the way to victory is still spinning in my head. There is also a number for this: course record in the third round. Something like a show of force or a self-affirmation, a necessary one. Kindle is a phenomenon. 1.66 meters from head to toe is not recommended for professional luge. Rather an exclusion criterion. Too small, too light. The respect to be able to attack Ludwig, the best starter thanks to size and power, is all the greater. Kindl is a danger that moves everyone along the route. Because, statistics and German luge history or not, nobody knows how it will end. The lead before the last round increases to 0.113 seconds. But the track doesn’t just look like a kite from a bird’s eye view, like a snake whose coils suddenly put even the best on top and bottom to the test.
David Gleirscher, the 2018 Olympic champion, falls. A small mistake at the start is enough to lose everything. Because speed delays due to the uphill passages can hardly be compensated for. Not to mention losing the ideal line before the last hump. Kindl shoots like on rails to the target, flawless. Ludwig has to deliver. Before the Olympic trip, he spoke of the “joy” that kept him “in my sport” in difficult times: “I’m glad I stayed on the ball for so many years,” he tells ZDF. With patience, everything came together for the finale: his athleticism, his driving skills, the fast sled from the research and development center for sports equipment, refined in Oberhof, the self-confidence of being able to win everywhere and – calmness. Last run, another 1,600 meters, teeth bared, catapulted into the track with mighty arms, at a speed of up to 130 past chicanes, as wafer-thin as the lead appears. Flawless, viewed from a distance, around 0.05 seconds faster than Kindl.
“I can hardly believe it,” says Ludwig. When he thanks everyone after the award ceremony, the family, the team, the trainers, his sled expert in Oberhof, his eyes get wet. That’s how it is for many on Sundays on the train. There are three winners on the podium. Kindl also shines with silver and first the Italian Dominik Fischnaller, fourth at the 2018 Olympics in South Korea by 0.002 seconds – behind Ludwig. Felix Loch, the three-time Olympic champion, not quite on track because of Corona in December, accepts this rank calmly before he says what many think beyond the German camp: “I’m really happy for Hansi, he fought for it for so many years , which is so deserved after this season. Hats off.”