Athlete profile: Hilde Gerg

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

Athlete notes

Eight thousand people live in the twin villages of Bad Toelz and Lenggries and 1,000 of them are named Gerg, including Hilde's cousin and teammate Annemarie and former great German skier Michaela Gerg-Leitner..."It's hard for journalists to find me in the phone book," laughs Gerg...her popularity has skyrocketed in recent years...at the 1997 World Championships in Sestriere, Italy, Gerg finished third in both the Super G and the combined events...the young German was thrilled by her two medals..."At first I thought, ‘I'm going to be fourth.' But I am overly happy and satisfied with the World Championships. I have two medals; I had not counted on that"...Gerg's specialty is the Super G, but she is a true all-around skier who can perform in the technical slalom Events as well...on January 5, in Bormio, Italy, Gerg finished second in the slalom to Swedish sensation Ylva Nowen -- Gerg's best slalom finish prior to this season was ninth...last year, Gerg finished third in the overall World Cup standings, winning the Super G title, as well as finishing top 15 in the slalom standings -- a testament to her all-around ability...in fact, the German team is stacked with talented all-around skiers..."The last few years we've had so many good skiers," says Gerg. "If one doesn't do well there is always another, but there is always a little bit of pressure"...women's head coach Wolfgang Maier often mentions Gerg in the breath as Olympic gold-medalist Katja Seizinger, who has a few more years of experience than Hilde..."Katja and I still manage to remain good friends despite the fact that we're both in competition in the standings," says Gerg. "We'll eat dinner together, even after a tough day racing"...the tough competition within the squad has helped each of the skiers, including Gerg...teammate Martina Ertl agrees, "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"...as of press time (January 5), Gerg had recorded five podiums -- one of them in parallel slalom, when she defeated teammate Ertl in the final -- and stood second in the overall World Cup standings to Seizinger..."With Lillehammer being my first Games it was a very special experience," says Gerg. "I will always remember Lillehammer. Sometimes I see the smiles of the Norwegian people in my dreams"...as for Nagano, Gerg says she will be more relaxed in the start house..."Things will be much different. I will know what to expect before the first run"...Gerg did not ski on the giant slalom and slalom pistes last year in Nagano, but did say the runs for the speed events are both good...Gerg's family has a pension on top of a mountain in Lenggries called the "Brauneck Tölzer Hütte"u...to get to school, she would ski 35 minutes down the mountain every day with her father...their car was parked at the mountain's base, and her father would then drive her to school..."She got a better skiing education going to school than any ski school could give," jokes former women's coach Rainer Mutschler, who now heads up the German men's team...Hilde says she likes to read, play tennis and cook in her free time...she also says she enjoys being lazy and just relaxing when she is not competing or training...Gerg does not speak much English...