Olympia 2022: Natalie Geisenberger wins gold in tobogganing – Anna Berreiter makes the German double victory perfect with silver

Natalie Geisenberger stayed cool while chasing the record, then everything broke out of her: on her knees, the “toboggan mom” celebrated her fifth Olympic gold medal, she dried her tears of joy with the German flag, even her companion Felix Loch cried with happiness. “The team’s reception at the finish was so great. Incredibly beautiful moments,” enthused the Olympic champion Interview with Eurosport.

“Felix Loch said, if I do the race now, I’ll kiss your feet. I wouldn’t have given him that medal,” said Geisenberger. With all her experience, the 34-year-old from Munich mastered the treacherous Yanqing ice track, led a double victory in front of Anna Berreiter – and now she is even targeting Claudia Pechstein’s Olympic record.

“It was always the goal somewhere to drive for a medal again here,” said Geisenberger, who had become a mother for the first time in May 2020, on “ARD”: “But it’s crazy that it’s enough to get gold again. I don’t have any Words, I couldn’t have done it without my family.”

Debutante Berreiter rounded off the strong German result with silver. “My silver shines like gold. I’m super happy with my race, I kept my nerves together until the last moment. Then crossed the finish line and just enjoy it,” said the 22-year-old at Eurosport.

“It’s a great moment that I’ve often imagined. But never as it really was. It’s just overwhelming. I had so much fun. It’s worth so much to me and all the hard work is rewarded. I could have done better can’t catch it,” says Berreiter happily.

Best German Winter Olympians: Geisenberger draws level with Pechstein

Team D had already celebrated a double victory with Geisenberger at the top in Pyeongchang 2018 and Sochi 2014. After Johannes Ludwig’s triumph in the men’s category, the German lugers, used to success, celebrated their second gold medal in China.

Julia Taubitz had already fallen the day before, but the world champion fought her way up a few places to seventh place. “Everyone says to me: there will be another chance in four years,” she said, “that’s true, but it’s four damn years.” Bronze went to ROC athlete Tatjana Ivanova.

With her fifth coup, in 2014 and 2018, she also won in the team, Geisenberger caught up with Pechstein after gold medals. If the German relay wins the team competition on Thursday, the 34-year-old would even leave the speed skater behind after Olympic victories and become the most successful German winter Olympian.

That’s not important to her, said Geisenberger, “maybe someday. But everyone goes their own way, everyone has different opportunities. My way was great the way it was.” Much more important: After the birth of her son Leo, she made it back to the top of the world.

Geisenberger admits: “Two incredibly hard days”

“I actually didn’t believe it until the end. The comeback that we started as a family was just worth it. The gold medal is for my family. I can only say thank you and I’ll be happy when I’m home again . Then we celebrate, “announced Geisenberger in an interview with Eurosport on.

Her husband Markus followed the race with his son at home in Miesbach. “Yesterday I got a picture of Leo sitting in front of the TV. But maybe his cars interested him more today, I don’t know. That’s the nice thing: he would have been just as happy to see me if I didn’t have a medal would have,” said Geisenberger.

The “toboggan queen” (quote from national coach Norbert Loch) also spoke remarkably honestly about her respect for curve 13. Taubitz had fallen here the day before, Geisenberger had suffered the same fate in the World Cup in November and in the penultimate training session.

On Tuesday she was “just as nervous as on Monday,” “I hardly ate again, it was two incredibly hard days,” said Geisenberger, looking at the gold medal: “But this is the reward.”

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(with SID)