Georg Hackl: The toboggan legend's last ride in the World Cup!

Georg Hackl: The toboggan legend's last ride in the World Cup!

Winter has just begun when news is causing a stir in international tobogganing: Georg Hackl, the living tobogganing legend from Berchtesgaden, will be stepping down as coach after the current season. At 59, Hackl has had an impressive career that is now coming to an end in a very special way. The current season will be his last in the World Cup, he announced in an interview NWZ Online.

Hackl is not just a great of tobogganing - he has won five Olympic gold medals and has been an integral part of the winter sports landscape for almost 40 years. His involvement as a coach began on May 1, 2022, when he joined the Austrian Toboggan Association. Under his guidance, the Austrian team developed into one of the most promising in the world at the 2024 World Cup in Whistler, Canada, and celebrated an impressive four gold medals. Germany, on the other hand, won three gold medals, which Hackl considers to be quite remarkable, because not only his training, but also the good cooperation within the coaching circle contributed to this success, as in another report by The world is to be read.

A farewell full of memories

Hackl himself has an ambivalent relationship with his resignation. “I would definitely like to continue tobogganing in some form, but no longer with the current intensity,” he explains. It is not yet clear whether he can also imagine getting involved in the youth sector. His current contract runs until after the 2026 Winter Olympics, which will take place in Cortina d'Ampezzo. Hackl will be there for the eleventh time and preparations are in full swing. He stresses the importance of the Olympic track being completed in time to ensure the safety of athletes, an issue that has finally come into focus after the tragic accident of Georgian Nodar Kumaritashvili 15 years ago.

The Olympic disciplines in tobogganing - singles, doubles and the team relay, introduced in 2014 - are very popular, which underlines the tradition of the sport, which has always had a permanent place in the program since its introduction at the 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck. This year, Hackl is hoping for cold ice conditions, which are crucial for a strong start, especially in a sport in which speeds of up to 140 km/h have to be achieved tobogganing.org describes.

A legacy full of pride

Hackl looks back proudly on his time, both in Germany and Austria. His affiliation with both nations makes him a special figure in tobogganing, who holds the flag high for the sport. The final chapter of his coaching career may soon be written down, but the team's successes that he shaped will certainly be remembered for a long time. The upcoming World Cup races in Winterberg and the Olympic Games in Cortina d’Ampezzo will provide opportunities to say a fitting farewell to one of the greatest in tobogganing.