Tobogganing
National toboggan coach? Georg Hackl says “no”
Doesn’t want to become the German national toboggan coach: Georg Hackl. photo
© Marius Becker/dpa
Based on the name, Georg Hackl would actually be the logical successor to national coach Norbert Loch. The tobogganing legend from Berchtesgaden has his own opinion.
The 57-year-old has been under contract with the Austrian Toboggan Association as a trainer for driving and sledding techniques since May 1, 2022. This runs until after the 2026 Winter Olympics. “What I will do after that has not yet been decided. Austria has signaled me interest in things beyond that,” said Hackl.
Hackl would be the ideal successor
But first the Berchtesgadener wants to once again live up to his reputation as a Germany terror at the World Cup from Friday to Sunday in Altenberg, Saxony. Austria’s national toboggan team benefits from Hackl’s expertise and is now once again among the world’s best.
National luge coach Norbert Loch, whose contract with the German association also runs until 2026, has not yet really decided what will happen after the Olympics. “I won’t answer the question 100 percent at the moment,” the 61-year-old told dpa. It’s not difficult to motivate yourself, but it’s “slowly becoming more difficult to be on the road so much.” Actually, given the name, Hackl would be the ideal Loch successor. “As a head coach you have to do a lot of organizational tasks. And as a national coach you have to be able to use the latest communication and IT technologies in a progressive manner,” says Hackl, describing parts of the requirement profile that he doesn’t think he has. He says with a laugh: “I’ll be happy if in this life it’s enough for me to be able to use my smartphone.”
Strengths in other areas
Hackl sees good reasons for not wanting to become a national coach. “I’m approaching the end of my professional career. Then I’ll spend the last few years doing what I do best, what I enjoy and what my passion lies in,” he emphasizes. He sees his strengths in other areas. “There are not that many experts in tobogganing. I have acquired certain skills and abilities in my life that allow me to advance and support the athletes very well,” says the former exceptional athlete.
“I’ve been tobogganing around the world every winter for 40 years, traveling from one hotel to another, and I hardly have any free time in the winter. My private life suffers a lot in the winter months,” says Hackl, who is also happy after the Winter Games in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo doesn’t want to completely withdraw from tobogganing. He will “definitely slow down after the Olympics. But I can certainly imagine that I will take on tasks in a different form. But I will make that decision in due course.”