Madeleine Egle burst into tears during the interview. © ORF

Star luger cries after suspension: “Career in ruins”

In the middle of summer, news caused a stir in the winter sports scene: top luger Madeleine Egle has been banned for 20 months. The North Tyrolean is devastated.

August 25, 2025

From: apa/det

The news hit like a bombshell on Monday. Madeleine Egle, one of the world's best lugers, has been banned for 20 months for missing three doping tests. The 27-year-old, who has already achieved numerous successes in her sport, will thus miss the big highlight of the coming winter: the Olympic Games in Milan and Cortina.

"I never expected such a harsh punishment. My career feels like it's in ruins. I don't know how to go on," Egle explained in a press release from the Austrian Federation. The reason for the suspension is three missed doping tests in 2023. A missed test is the failure of an athlete in the top segment of the national testing pool to be available for a doping test at the location and time within the 60-minute window specified for that day.

Madeleine Egle is one of the best lugers in the world. © dpa-Zentralbild / Martin Schutt

In an interview with the ORF Egle explains tearfully: "The last few months have been the hardest of my life, also because you don't know what's going to happen to you. Of course, you need to be punished if you make mistakes. But I find it hard to understand. If someone tests positive for doping, whether intentionally or not, they are punished less than I am," says Egle.

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The 16-time World Cup winner, two-time Olympic medalist, and three-time world champion also explained how the missed doping tests came about. The first time, she had to stay somewhere else at short notice and didn't disclose it; the second time, she entered the wrong travel date and later failed to consider the time difference. The third time, she didn't provide the apartment number of her Airbnb during a vacation in Los Angeles. "It was a bad turn out and extremely annoying, because I'm usually a perfectionist."

Finding the meaning of life

The proceedings began in early 2024, and the verdict wasn't delivered until 20 months later. Whether Egle will return to the tobogganing stage in fall 2026 is more uncertain than ever. "I just want to switch off now and try to find my personal meaning in life. In any case, I will finish my studies (economics at the University of Innsbruck, ed.). And maybe I'll gain professional experience through an internship."