Armin Zöggeler beams with Verena Hofer, who won bronze in the team relay. © FELICE CALABRO' / Felice Calabro'

Which is the most beautiful medal, Armin Zöggeler?

Without a doubt, the luge team led by racing director Armin Zöggeler became the great sporting heroes in Cortina d'Ampezzo. Now Zöggeler draws his conclusions.

February 14, 2026

From Cortina d'Ampezzo

If it weren't for Armin Zöggeler, there would be no Eugenio Monti track in Cortina today. The six-time Olympic medalist fought tenaciously in recent years to ensure that his luge athletes got their own track.

The athletes, led by star athlete Dominik Fischnaller, repaid the faith shown in them at the Olympics: Two gold medals in the doubles (Andrea Vötter and Marion Oberhofer, and Emanuel Rieder and Simon Kainzwaldner) and two bronze medals (Fischnaller and the team relay) represent a brilliant haul. Two days after the last competition at the Olympics, Zöggeler draws his conclusions. SportNews The Völlaner spoke about...


… the haul of four Olympic medals:

"I would have signed up for that immediately before it even started! Of course, we were aiming for medals. I said that three medals were possible – the next day the newspaper said that I wanted three medals, which wasn't quite accurate. In the end, we got four, and it was a fantastic Games for us lugers. This is clearly an incentive for the younger athletes."


… the most beautiful of the four medals:

"That was Dominik's (Fischnaller, editor's note) bronze medal. He won it in the very first race, taking so much pressure off the team. I was the most nervous in that race because if we had started with a fourth-place finish, the pressure would have been much greater. That's why I'm incredibly happy that we started with a medal right away."

This is how our lugers celebrate. © APA/afp / FRANCK FIFE

… the most surprising medal:

"Those were the men's doubles team of Emanuel Rieder and Simon Kainzwaldner. Before the start of the Olympic Games, we didn't know which of our two duos would come out on top. It was a good back-and-forth throughout the entire season, in which the other duo – Ivan Nagler and Fabian Malleier – were usually in the lead and also qualified first. For Emanuel and Simon to then come out on top at the Olympics was a huge achievement."


… the historic day with two gold medals within 64 minutes:

"That was simply unbelievable, I never thought something like that would happen. Two gold medals at the Olympics, at home no less, and within an hour – I was overwhelmed. The men's gold came as a surprise and made me incredibly happy, and I was especially pleased for our two women, Andrea Vötter and Marion Oberhofer. A podium finish was already the goal, so to win gold was fantastic."


… the differences between his successes as an athlete (including six Olympic medals) and as a coach:

"The life of a coach and the life of an athlete are two completely different things. As an individual athlete, you have to have a certain amount of selfishness, but as a coach, real life begins (laughs). Here you have to manage a team, you learn how to work properly as a team, there are conflicts, different personalities that you have to deal with correctly. In any case, I learned a lot."

Dominik Fischnaller with his bronze medal. © ANSA / DANIEL DAL ZENNARO

… the criticisms that arose beforehand due to the newly built ice channel:

"It's incredibly satisfying to be standing here with four medals. These were wonderful Games for us lugers, and now we're moving on to bobsleigh and skeleton. We received a huge number of congratulations from other nations who were happy for us and our new track and were delighted for our success."


… the fear that the Olympic track in Cortina would suffer the same fate as the one in Turin in 2006, which no longer exists today:

"There is no fear! We have now won two gold medals, so the politicians will be forced to continue operating the railway (laughs)."

The lugers are in a frenzy of jubilation. © APA/afp / FRANCK FIFE

… the special meeting with President Sergio Mattarella:

“After our double gold medal win in the doubles, Andrea Vötter and Marion Oberhofer were received by the President of the Republic, who was spending two days in Cortina d’Ampezzo. I accompanied them; unfortunately, Emanuel Rieder and Simon Kainzwaldner failed a doping test. Mattarella paid the two gold medalists many compliments. He said that this was a wonderful success for Italy and for the newly built luge track. He also showed great interest, wanting to know, for example, who was competing in the relay and how the race worked. The following day, Thursday, he visited the Olympic Village.”


… the celebrations after each medal win:

“Many people think that after winning a medal, the big party goes on until late into the night. But that’s not the case. After the medal ceremony, it’s off to the pit lane (interview area, ed. note), then to doping control, then on to Casa Italia, where there’s a lot of small talk. The athletes are tired and happy when it’s finally time for bed. We’ll definitely have the big party back home.”