Armin Zöggeler ends his career: the greatest of all time is leaving

There has been speculation about the end of Armin Zöggeler's career for years, but he kept hanging on for another season and promptly left the competition frozen in awe. On Tuesday afternoon, at a press conference in Milan, he drew a line in the sand and announced the end of his career.

“The decision was already made at the end of the Olympic Games, but I didn't want to rush anything. The first thing I had to do was discuss the situation with those closest to me. I think now is the right time to put the toboggan aside,” explained the exceptional athlete. Zöggeler will now coordinate the collaboration between CONI, FISI and Ferrari on material development. In the future he would like to build a team that will win titles and medals in international competitions. The Völlaner would also like Italy to have its own railway again.

The Olympic King

One thing is certain: Armin Zöggeler is by no means an aging old star; instead, he was one of the absolute toboggan elite until his last race. As a 40-year-old, he once again provided an absolute highlight last season and won his sixth Olympic medal in Sochi. With the “bronze” in Russia, he also set the next record: never before had a winter athlete managed to win six medals at six different Olympic Games. The South Tyrolean was on the podium for the first time in Lillehammer in 1994. At that time he took third place. He climbed one podium higher in Nagano in 1998 before landing his first big coup four years later in Salt Lake City. He repeated his Olympic victory in Turin in 2006, when the pressure of an entire nation rested on his shoulders and he wrote an unforgettable moment in Italian sports history. In Vancouver and Sochi he rounded off his Olympic haul with two more bronze medals.

Ten overall World Cup victories

However, the Völlaner cemented his status as the best luger of all time primarily in the World Cup, which he dominated for almost two decades. He was crowned overall World Cup winner ten times. He won no less than 59 races and was on the podium a total of 119 times. His last success was on January 26th this year when he beamed from the winner's podium in Sigulda.

34 medals at world and European championships

In Latvia, Zöggeler simultaneously won his fourth European championship title and a total of his 18th medal in continental title fights. In addition, 16 World Cup medals adorn his personal trophy collection. This will be officially closed as of today, but Zöggeler's dominance will remain a constant benchmark in the artificial track tobogganing scene.

Armin Zöggeler's career in numbers:

Olympics - 6 medals: 2 gold (single-seater in Salt Lake City 2002, single-seater in Turin 2006) 1 silver (single-seater in Nagano 1998) 3 Bronze (single-seater in Lillehammer 1994, single-seater in Vancouver 2010, single-seater in Sochi 2014)

World Championships - 16 medals: 6 Gold (single-seater in Lillehammer 1995, single-seater in Schönau am Königssee 1999, single-seater in Calgary 2001, single-seater in Sigulda 2003, single-seater in Park City 2005, single-seater in Cesana Torinese 2011) 5 silver (team competition in Lillehammer 1995, single-seater in St. Moritz 2000, single-seater and team competition in Igls 2007, single-seater in Lake Placid 2009) 5 Bronze (team competition in Altenberg 1996, team competition in Igls 1997, team competition in Nagano 2004, team competition in Park City 2005, single-seater in Altenberg 2012)

European Championships - 18 medals: 4 gold (team competition in Schönau am Königssee 1994, single-seater in Oberhof 2004, single-seater in Cesana Torinese 2008, single-seater in Sigulda 2014) 6 silver (team competition in Oberhof 1998, team competition in Oberhof 2004, single-seater and team competition in Winterberg 2006, single-seater in Paramonovo 2012, team competition in Oberhof 2013) 8 Bronze (single-seater in Schönau am Königssee 1994, team competition in Sigulda 1996, single-seater and team competition in Winterberg 2000, single-seater in Altenberg 2002, team competition in Cesana Torinese 2008, team competition in Paramonovo 2012, team competition in Sigulda 2014)

World Cup: 10 overall World Cup victories (1997/98, 1999/00, 2000/01, 2003/04, 2005/06, 2006/07, 2007/08, 2008/09, 2009/10, 2010/11) 119 podium finishes (103 in the single-seater, 16 in the team competition): 59 victories (57 in the single-seater, 2 in the team competition) 33 second places (26 in the single-seater, 7 in the team competition) 27 third places (20 in the single-seater, 7 in the team competition)

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Armin Zöggeler ends his career: the greatest of all time is leaving

The “cannibal” is finally fed up. Armin Zöggeler has won everything there was to win, he has shattered all the records in his sport - now South Tyrol's most successful athlete of all time is retiring.

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