60 years of tobogganing success

Josef Mair and Walter Ausserdorfer wrote South Tyrolean toboggan history at the 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck. Thanks to a great performance, the two raced to third place in the doubles, not only winning the first South Tyrolean Olympic medal in luge, but also the first South Tyrolean Olympic medal in all winter sports disciplines.

Since then, 17 more South Tyrolean Olympic medals in luge have followed. And also many well-known South Tyrolean tobogganers, such as Paul Hildgartner, Gerda Weißensteiner, Maria-Luise Rainer, Walter Plaikner, Armin Zöggeler and, last but not least, Dominik Filehner or the top duo Andrea Vötter/Marion Oberhofer. The latter recently captured their second doubles crystal globe in a row. You quickly notice: the tobogganing tradition in South Tyrol is immense.

What makes this sport so special? Now you might ask yourself why so many successful luge athletes come from South Tyrol? “I started tobogganing because some of my colleagues were already in the national team and Paul Hildgartner’s brother in particular pushed me into it,” says Walter Plaikner.

The “woman of tobogganing”: Maria-Luise Rainer, former tobogganer and current event director for the 2026 Olympics.

He himself won gold in the doubles at the 1972 Olympics together with Paul Hildgartner and, after his career, worked as a coach in Italy, Japan, the USA and Russia. “But what I enjoyed most was coaching my home nation. “You know the mentality and the people,” said Plaikner.

But what makes the sport so special? “It takes a certain amount of effort, but once you're in, you can't get out,” says Maria-Luise Rainer.

She was also a very successful tobogganer. Her greatest success was winning the overall World Cup in the women's single-seater in the 1985/86 season. Today she works as event director for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy. “What I always liked was the speed you could achieve on the toboggan. “It’s just a lot of fun,” concludes Rainer.

The “golden” future: Ready for the 2026 Olympics? South Tyrol's young tobogganers are definitely ready for more. Already at the Youth Olympic Winter Games in Gangwon (South Korea) in January of this year, the South Tyroleans made people sit up and take notice. In the end there were four gold, one silver and one bronze medals.

<a data-caption="Talente: Leon Haselrieder, Philip Brunner, Katharina Sofie Kofler (hinten v.l.), Alexandra Oberstolz, Manuel Weissensteiner (vorne v.l.)." data-fancybox="inline-200576" target="_image" href="https://s3-images.sportnews.bz/_images/scale/1280x1280/img/2024/03/talente-leon-haselrieder-philip-brunner-katharina-sofie-kofler-hinten-vl-alexandra-oberstolz-manuel-weissensteiner-vorne-vl.jpg"> Talents: Leon Haselrieder, Philip Brunner, Katharina Sofie Kofler (back from left), Alexandra Oberstolz, Manuel Weissensteiner (front from left).

“I really have to say: Hats off! The achievements of the young athletes are truly sensational,” enthuses Rainer. “And who knows: maybe one or two of them will be at the Winter Games in two years. “They definitely deserve it,” emphasizes Rainer almost euphorically. One thing is certain: The anticipation for the 2026 Olympics is definitely huge!

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60 years of tobogganing success

Exactly 60 years ago, Josef Mair and Walter Ausserdorfer became the first South Tyroleans to win an Olympic medal - and thus triggered euphoria.

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