Considered maybe the greatest luger ever, Zöggeler (ITA) retired from the sport this week, after a luminous career in which he won six Olympics medals, 16 World Championship medals, 11 European Championship medals, and 10 World Cup titles. With those six Olympic medals - 2 gold, 1 silver, 3 bronze - made him the first Olympian to medal in an individual event in six successive Games.
I always found his persona on ice to be a bit cold and serious, so I'm not surprised to find his nicknames are 'Il Cannibale' and 'The Iceblood Champion'. But his success speaks for himself, and I doubt that anytime soon anyone will come close to matching his record. The man second in that Olympic record book - Georg Hackl (GER), with 5 straight Games medals - is retired. Much respect to his longevity and to the obvious talent he brought to the sport, but I'll be happy to see some new blood. It had gotten a bit tiresome watching him and Hackl trade wins and, for lack of better term, hog the podiums. Let's see some fresh faces! That said, luge isn't a sport known for that, so we'll see how that goes in the next couple of cycles. Signs are ominous, though - Sochi champion Felix Loch (GER) is already a three-time Olympic gold medalist, and only 24.
I always found his persona on ice to be a bit cold and serious, so I'm not surprised to find his nicknames are 'Il Cannibale' and 'The Iceblood Champion'. But his success speaks for himself, and I doubt that anytime soon anyone will come close to matching his record. The man second in that Olympic record book - Georg Hackl (GER), with 5 straight Games medals - is retired. Much respect to his longevity and to the obvious talent he brought to the sport, but I'll be happy to see some new blood. It had gotten a bit tiresome watching him and Hackl trade wins and, for lack of better term, hog the podiums. Let's see some fresh faces! That said, luge isn't a sport known for that, so we'll see how that goes in the next couple of cycles. Signs are ominous, though - Sochi champion Felix Loch (GER) is already a three-time Olympic gold medalist, and only 24.
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