Athlete profile: Armin Zöggeler

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

Athlete notes

A surprise bronze medalist at the 1994 Olympic Games at just 20 years of age, Zöggeler is primed to take over from luge legends Georg Hackl of Germanyand Markus Prock of Austria as the sport's most dominant performer...a win by Zöggeler in Nagano would by no means be a surprise, but it would be the first time a non-German wins the men's singles Events since 1984...however, Zöggeler refuses to let his recent success add credence to his role as Olympic favorite...after winning the first World Cup Events in Sigulda to start the year he made a strong disclaimer about World Cup results..."I don't think this race has any importance for Nagano," said Zöggeler after the victory...but the next week, Zöggeler won the Events in Königssee, crushing Hackl, who finished sixth by over half a second (on the German's home track)...Armin began luging at age eight, inspired by his father who was a recreational luger...Armin was a top junior in 1990, but even at a young age he was routinely brought along with the senior team for the World Cup circuit..."That really helped a lot," says Zöggeler. "It was partially because of my talent, but partially because there weren't that many people for the team. I was very fortunate"...as a result, Zöggeler was able to gain valuable experience on all the world's top tracks, something most lugers don't acquire until a later age...a deep Italian team kept Zöggeler from making the squad in Albertville, but at the time Italian coaches knew he had potential..."He is a real talent," said one coach. "He also handles pressure"...two years later Zöggeler made his mark with the bronze in Lillehammer, finishing within striking distance of times set by the elite Prockand Hackl..."It was a big surprise," says Zöggeler...when Zöggeler returned home from Norway, his town of Lana (population 1,000) in the South Tyrol region of northern Italy organized a reception for him..."There were friends, family and colleagues there," says Zöggeler. "I was the first Olympic competitor from my town, so it meant something"...in his youth, Armin grew up on his family farm and always had to get up early to help with the chores...his parents still work on the farm and Armin also has an older brother...Zöggeler finished school at 14 to devote himself to luge, and he's now a member of the Italian caribinieri -- the well-known national police force -- though his training takes precedence over work, which is very minimal...throughout his luging career, Zöggeler's idol has been Hackl..."I admire him mostly because of his success but also because of his attitude towards luging," says Zöggeler. "He always concentrates on what he's doing"...Zöggeler would like nothing more than to topple his mentor in Nagano -- at Hackl's final Olympic Games..."It is a really nice track," says Zöggeler, "really technical, but also fast"...in his spare time, Zöggeler enjoys speeding around on his motocross bike or driving his car...he has also picked up snowboarding and tries to find time in the winter to ride...of all the other teams, Zöggeler says he enjoys the Americans..."They're always relaxed," he says, "and they like to have fun. When I come to the U.S., they always ask me to come out. Other teams are just as easy to talk to, but the Americans are more able to turn luge off after the race and just have fun"...maybe the fact that Zöggeler routinely beats the Americans has something to do with it too... Zöggeler only finished sEventsh last year in the overall World Cup standings largely due to the fact that he did not score points in one Events...he won the race on the Olympic course in Lillehammer and placed eighth at the Nagano test Events...he speaks a few words of English, and German is his first language...