Andrea Vötter before the World Cup: “Gold would be a dream”

The local sledders are better this winter than they have been in years. After five extremely successful World Cup stages, racing director Armin Zöggeler is now sending a large contingent of 13 athletes into the hunt for medals in the Thuringian Forest.

There are extremely high chances of winning precious metal on the first day of the race, when the sprint competitions take place. On Saturday and Sunday, the classic races in the single-seater and double-seater as well as the team relay take place. The South Tyroleans have a chance of success in all races.

Filehner at the start as World Cup leader A great source of hope is once again Dominik Fiwickeler, who is confidently leading in the overall single-seater World Cup and has now already demonstrated his excellent form in training on the track in Oberhof, which he otherwise dislikes.

Italy's squad at the group photo in Oberhof. © Hermann Sobe

Andrea Vötter has even greater gold ambitions and is more successful this winter than ever before. That's because since the beginning of the season, in addition to the single-seater, she has also been driving the double-seater, which was newly introduced for women - and extremely successfully! Together with Marion Oberhofer, who is five years younger than her, the 27-year-old from Völs has won three of five races this season and they have been at the top of the overall World Cup for weeks. So it's clear that she's in the short interview below SportNews underlines their medal claim.

Andrea Vötter, how does it feel to go into the World Cup as the big hunted? “It's kind of cool when you're in the spotlight and the competition is following you. This is a new feeling for us. A World Cup medal is our goal, gold would of course be a dream. But we shouldn't become overconfident; I don't want to place too much emphasis on our previous successes. This will be a very tough fight with several duos competing for the medals. The start in the double seater was moved down a bit because the original start was deemed too dangerous. We first have to see how we can cope with it.”

Are you concentrating on the single-seater or the double-seater in Oberhof? “So far I have tried to maintain a balance between the two races. At the World Cup, my focus is clearly on the doubles because the chances of success are simply higher there. In order not to have to complete four races within 24 hours, I will forego the single-seater sprint.” “We never thought it would go so well.” Andrea Voetter At the last World Cup you only competed alone. When was the idea of the doubles team with Marion Oberhofer born? “This discipline was held for the first time at the last World Cup. Afterwards we thought: Why don't we just give it a try? We immediately noticed that we coordinate well with each other and can be fast on the ice track, which is why we started this World Cup winter on a trial basis. Sitting on the toboggan with Marion is really fun.”

So the experiment became a successful formula? “We never thought it would go so well straight away. The experience I gained in single-seaters on the World Cup tracks certainly played into my hands. I think that in the doubles the field will become closer together in the next few years and the quality will continue to increase. As long as I can, I would like to continue to combine both disciplines. But further plans won’t be made until the summer. For now, I want to enjoy the moment and compete in the World Cup in the best possible way.”

The World Cup program Friday, January 27th 9 a.m.: Qualification Sprint, 13 p.m.: Sprint Doubles Men, 13.25:14.15 p.m. Sprint Doubles Women, 15.10:XNUMX p.m. Sprint Women, XNUMX:XNUMX p.m. Sprint Men Saturday, January 28th 8.25 a.m.: Men's doubles 1st heat, 9.25 a.m.: Women's doubles 1st heat, 10.15 a.m.: Men's doubles 2nd heat, 10.50 a.m.: Women's doubles 2nd heat, 11.45 a.m.: Women's singles 13.15st heat, 2 p.m.: Women's singles XNUMXnd heat Sunday, January 29st 10 a.m.: Men's single-seater 1st heat, 11.35 a.m.: Men's single-seater 2nd heat, 13.40 p.m.: Team relay

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Andrea Vötter before the World Cup: “Gold would be a dream”

The hunt for medals starts on Friday at the World Luge Championships in Oberhof. In the run-up to the title fights, we spoke to an athlete who has suddenly become Italy's greatest hope in this sport: Andrea Vötter.

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