Athlete profile: Christoph Langen

Posted: Tue February 3, 1998 at 5:00 PM ET

Athlete notes

To use the words of LLCool J, "Don't call it a comeback," because in the mind of Christoph Langen, he never left his beloved sport of bobsled...after being bothered by a bad ankle for over two years and being told by doctors to have it operated on, Langen tore his Achilles tendon before the 1996-97 season...the operation forced him to sit out the entire World Cup competition last year as he rehabilitated... but that does not mean Langen stayed inactive..."In February (1997) I was fitted for a special shoe by Adidas," says Langen. "I couldn't run and could barely even walk, but I wanted to keep the feel of driving and I made over 20 training runs"...still, he says those runs were inadequate - with the warmth of spring weather eroding the track...the strength and depth of German bobsledding will make qualifying for the Olympics a success in itself..."It wouldn't be that big a surprise if some of the big names -- Langen, [Wolfgang] Hoppe -- don't qualify for the Olympics," says one German journalist. "Actually, it would be quite normal with four equally strong teams in both categories"...with the major races like the European and World Championships not taking place until late January, at press time it is too early to judge Langen's form...but he did win the two-man category at his first race of the season -- a German World Cup qualifying race in Altenberg -- edging out countryman Sepp Dostthaler..."I am very happy with my progress so far," said Langen in November. "I am past the point where I hoped I would be, but I am still only somewhere between 80 and 90 percent"...on the other hand, his four-man sled was not performing as well, placing behind several German sleds like the ones of drivers Dirk Wiese and Wolfgang Hoppe early in the season..."I am not at all happy with the start times [of our team]," said Langen...for Langen, knowing how hard he has to work is half the battle -- he has been there before...in 1992, Langen won the bronze medal at the Albertville Games shocking the bobsledding world..."I was really surprised that I beat world-class pilots like Hoppe and [Harald] Czudaj. But I wasn't very nervous. I had a very bad third run so I just played all my cards. I took a lot of risks in driving"...before Albertville he had never driven in a World Cup race...some of the German bobsledding tradition was already instilled in Langen...after reunification, he made numerous trips to Oberhof, one of the former East Germany's two major bobsledding centers...he trained with still-active German bobledding legend Hoppe, serving as a pusher in Hoppe's sled while also learning the craft of driving a sled...Langen was brakeman for Hoppe when they captured the four-man gold medal at the 1991 World Championships in Altenberg..."Of course, Hoppe was always a mentor for me," says Langen, "even now, I still look up to him, and the way he promotes the sport"...when Hoppe retires at the Hoppe Challenge Cup in March, Langen says it will not be the same without him..."Of course from a competition standpoint I will be very happy that he retires," says Langen with a smile. "But Bobsport will be missing something when Hoppe is not there anymore"...Langen's most notable success was his quadruple-win at the 1996 European and World Championships, in which he won both the two-and four man, something never before accomplished in bobsport...Langen was so dominant at the Worlds in Calgary that the four fastest times in the four-man were all recorded by him and his team of pushers: Markus Zimmerman, Sven Ruhr and Olaf Hempel...the success of 1996 was little consolation for Langen's biggest lifetime disappointment of not qualifying or the 1994 Winter Games..."From my point of view I should have been there," says Langen about Lillehammer. "I was in the top three of every World Cup race. It was only my mistake in one of the qualifying events when I took a wrong line through a curve and finished fifth on the German team"...while Langen still has nightmares about that one turn, he looks forward to readying his sled for Nagano..."I have two new sleds that I have worked on completely myself," says Langen. "I want to make a lot of practice runs in them so that I can get the right feel. I don't want to just go down, I want to go down fast and that will need many more training runs"...one aspect which could hinder Langen is the time spent on the Nagano track...it is important to remember that Langen missed the vital Olympic test Events at Izuna Kogen last year..."I spent some time on the track in December," says Langen. "But practice on a track does not compare to competition, they are very different. Competition is where you really learn and that is where others have an edge over me"...Langen moved from Kastl to Aschaffenberg recently and is no longer dating World Cup luger and two-time Olympic medalist Susi Erdmann -- once a hot topic among the German and international winter sports media...the Christoph Langen Fan Club remains over 150 members-strong and it is growing and growing...Maria Heide who runs the club has even learned Japanese in the last four years and has been there twice while planning to bring a big group of Langen supporters to the Games should Langen compete...in his free time, Langen enjoys riding his motorcycle and going sailing on the Chiemsee, but he is also content just working on his bobsled materials...after all, it is Langen's ability to work on his sled by himself that often sets him apart from others..."Others like Hoppe have a big staff," says former brakeman Peer Joechel. "He does most of his stuff along. He knows everything about the sled. This is one of the most important qualities that makes him successful"...Langen is trained as a mechanic and is supported by the German Army "sport advancement" program...before starting bobsled he was originally a decathlete...he is still single and is "happily not married" as he says...he does not speak much English...