Athlete profile: Martina Ertl

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

Athlete notes

The German skiing hotbed of Lenggries boasts two of the top three skiers on the powerful German women's team...Ertl and Hilde Gerg are both from the small town in Bavaria and, along with Katja Seizinger, form a formidable triumvirate of skiers who excel in all five ski disciplines...for the first months of this winter season, the trio has been ranked in the top five in the overall World Cup rankings...and on any given day in any Events, one of the three Germans can finish on the podium...that's what happened at the 1994 Olympics, when Ertl placed a close fourth to Seizinger's gold in the downhill and then won a silver in the giant slalom..."I was really surprised with the downhill," says Ertl. "In the GS I knew I could make a medal after the '93 World Championships when I was second. I just do the downhill to train for my Super G"...and training is one of the key's to Ertl's success in the past few years...German coaches note that Martina is an all-out skier who does not know the meaning of defensive skiing...in 1995 and 1996, Ertl threatened in the World Cup overall title-race and took a bronze in the GS at the 1996 World Championships..."We have three girls who are on top in the world," says Ertl. "We each have our events. Katja in downhill, Hilde in the Super G and me in GS. We know how to push each other"...last year, Ertl was busy pushing herself, however...after tearing a ligament in her left knee October 14th , 1996, Ertl faced an uphill battle the whole winter...though she recovered quickly and recorded a fifth-place finish in her first Events back, Ertl struggled through much of the rest of the season...at the beginning of this winter Ertl expressed publicly that she did not really want to talk much about last season...and when she placed second to Italy's Deborah Campagnoni in the opening giant slalom of the year, the German media exclaimed: "Martina is back"...this year she says training has been going particularly well, "Hopefully I can transfer that to the races," she says...and German coaches say Martina's work ethic has always been impressive compared to other German ski team members like Regina Haeusl..."(Haeusl) wins very early like Katja and Martina. She is very close to Martina, but Martina worked harder and harder. Martina knew she needed physical training. She moved up and forced her Regina down"...Ertl started skiing when she was very young...Lenggries is known for its skiing and was the home of top World Cup skier Michaela Gerg-Leitner..."When I was really small, I looked at Michaela on television," says Ertl. "She was one of the first to ski all the disciplines"...the town of Lenggries is proud of their Olympians and celebrated after Ertl's success in 1994..."When I went home after Lillehammer, we only had one day until we had to leave for an Events in Whistler (British Columbia)" says Ertl. "They organized a big party for all the Olympic skiers from the town"...that happens to be a hand-full of skiers...with former competitive skier Gerg-Leitnerand current skier Hilde Gerg also from Lenggries, the town was well represented at the 1994 Olympic Games...Ertl is not one to rest on her laurels as she prepares for Nagano..."Lillehammer is good memories: the people, the events, the weather, " says Ertl. "But I really don't think about the Olympics much. It seems like years ago. I only look ahead"...that seems to be a recurring theme for Ertl and a motto she can live by: only look ahead...with all her success, Ertl says the German public has come to appreciate the German women's ski team..."I think the men's team feels more pressure from the German media then we do," says Ertl...as for her hobbies, Martina enjoys reading and going out with her friends..."There really isn't much time for anything else," says Ertl. "If I'm not skiing, I'm testing skis or boots"...she does find the time to go swimming occasionally and when she is home she helps our her parents, Annaliese and Georg, on their farm...located in the mountains and complete with a few dozen cows, the Ertl farm is the place Martina goes to relax for a little while -- before she has to look ahead..."The first two days I'm home, I have nothing to do because of my parents are happy for me to be home," says Ertl. "But after that, they find things for me to do"... Ertl is a certified police border guard, who hopes to add to the collection of precious medals that she is already protecting...she speaks good English...