Olympische Spiele
Austria’s lugers concluded the Olympic Games in Cortina with a fourth medal, securing silver in the team relay on Thursday. Lisa Schulte, Thomas Steu/Wolfgang Kindl, Jonas Müller, Selina Egle/Lara Kipp combined for the second-place finish.
Germany took gold with a 0.542-second advantage, while Italy claimed the bronze. With six competition days complete at the Winter Games, Austria’s Olympic team now boasts a total of twelve medals (3 gold, 6 silver, 3 bronze). This strong showing underscores Austria’s continued dominance in sliding sports.
Lisa Schulte Secures First Olympic Medal
Lisa Schulte of Mieders was the only member of the Austrian Olympic Committee’s (ÖOC) luge team to not yet have a medal at these Games. She secured her first Olympic medal in the team event, a result confirmed as Egle/Kipp of Rinn and Igls completed their run.
The Austrian team finished more than five-tenths of a second ahead of Latvia, who placed fourth, and over three-tenths ahead of Italy. “Everyone is relieved, everyone put in a great performance. With all the sleds coming down, a lot can happen,” said Austria’s head coach Christian Eigentler to ORF. “We’re super happy with the silver medal.”
Medal Haul Continues
Austria entered the competition as the World Cup leader in the team relay. The Austrian team navigated the course cleanly and were rewarded for their efforts. Steu/Kindl and Müller will leave Cortina with two silver medals each. Egle/Kipp as well secured a bronze medal in the doubles event on Wednesday. “Four medals are just great. You have to achieve that in five competitions,” explained Austria’s Luge Federation President Markus Prock. Eigentler added that a “huge weight” had been lifted. “We’ve been performing well all season.”
Austria previously won four luge medals at the Winter Games in 1992 in Albertville, but there were only three events at that time. This year’s Games featured five events, including the newly added women’s doubles. In the team relay, this marks the third consecutive medal for Austria: bronze in 2018 and silver in 2022.
Mattle and Wohlgemuth Offer Congratulations
Tyrolean Governor Anton Mattle (ÖVP) and Deputy Governor Philip Wohlgemuth (SPÖ) immediately congratulated the Tyrolean luge athletes on their success in the team event: “An Olympic medal in the team relay is an expression of top performance and great cohesion. Our athletes have once again impressively proven, after the medals already achieved in the individual competitions, that they can unleash their potential under the highest pressure as a team. I would like to congratulate the entire Austrian luge team extremely warmly on this great success,” said Mattle.
Sports Officer Deputy Governor Philip Wohlgemuth emphasized: “Especially in the team relay, perfect timing and absolute trust within the team are crucial. The fact that the Austrian team, with a high level of Tyrolean participation, is being rewarded with a medal on the Olympic stage shows the high quality of the training function in our country and is a strong signal for Tyrolean luge sport.”
