In Winterberg has started the World Cup

In a sunny Winterberg as few remembered, last weekend kicked off the 2016/17 World Cup.

Living in a soccer-centric country like ours, the impact with the luge athmosphere is always reassuring. Beyond an healthy and reasonable sporting competitiveness, sport, respect and friendship are the dominant values.

On Friday and Saturday, February's "swimming pool" has given way to a dry and performing track, which has led to a slew of track records.

Women have begun greatly in the first run: Mc Rae (CAN), Platzer (AUT), Eitberger (GER), Hüfner (GER) and Geisenberger (GER) have overcome each other in this order, bringing lower and lower the dipstick. Geisenberger has also beaten herself in the second run, with a time of 55",401.

Although the path is long, we see hope for improvement even for our girls. A particularly spiteful fate has willed that both of them had serious shoulder problems ..and you know how shoulders are fundamental for a luger.

Sandra Robatscher had a bad inflammation, which had been a little overlooked, but the new physiotherapist, Antonio Tartaglia, has begun to address the situation already last summer. "In Norway, his condition was still very bad -he told us- but we managed to do a good job and now the problem seems to be solved."

Andrea Vötter's situation was still worst: she had already been underwent a bilateral surgery in the summer of 2015. However for the two shoulders had been used different surgical techniques. The one used on the right shoulder has proved much more effective, so in the last months the surgery on her left shoulder has been repeated with the technique proven the best and Andrea told us: "Since I returned on the ice, in Norway, I noticed a significant improvement and I've been performing like never before in the start. After surgery, by the moment that my teammates were often away and I was still recovering, I entrusted myself to a personal physiotherapist, with whom I was able to recuperate satisfactorily in time for the beginning of the season."

Doubles have not been less impressive with Wendl / Arlt, who lowered the time clocked in February by Eggert / Benecken, but have been repeatedly beaten by the same compatriots, who clocked the Track Record in both runs (42 962 and 42.943) and the Start Record (2,983) in the first heat.

Among the Italians, good fifths Rieder / Rastner, second only to the winners in the starting phase, and who are working hard on their driving technique, in which they still have considerable room for improvement.

One thing that has intrigued many fans is how Antonio Tartaglia, former Technical Director of the Italian bobsled National team, has become the physiotherapist of the luge National team.

"Actually my role in bobsled team was really stressful and I had decided to leave it anyway.

I was already qualified as a physiotherapist and I did what I needed to perform this task even at the National team level. By chance, my precursor, Diethmar Pirhofer, has been moved by the Army to Bozen, to manage the Casta. When in the spring I met Armin Zöggeler, my comrade in the Carabinieri, he asked me to join the luge National team. We made a test, we were fine on both sides, and here I am. The luge environment is completely different from that of the bobsled and I am sure that here I will have new challenges ... not least the language: they all speak dialect, at best German ... and I don't understand even one word!"

Shiva Keshavan photo: Hidenari Kanayama

In a Teutonic matrix environment like this, one of those who would fail to go unnoticed even if it wanted is a smiling Indian guy, with his orange suit, who thanks to his mother Rosalba and to his university studies in Italy, perfectly speaks Dante's language with a slight Tuscan accent: Shiva Keshavan.
Shiva is one of the veterans of the circuit, holder of the World record for youngest ever Olympian with regard to this discipline, which only 16 years old took part in the Olympics in Nagano (JAP). Since then he has not missed one edition of the games, so that Pyeongchang will be his 6th Olympics.

Since 2014 collaborates with him as coach the former US luger Duncan Kennedy, who is providing his extensive experience also to improve the sled.

Unfortunately on Sunday morning Winterberg has regained its usual humid and unstable climate. To pay the greater brunt have been the Fischnaller cousins, who have found themselves down the first run in a mixture of snow and rain that, in addition to making precarious the conditions of the track, has made poor the visibility during the race.
Small consolation in the second heat: Dominik has set the fastest time of the manche and Kevin got a 5th time for him very encouraging.

In the "traditional format" World Cup down the podium Felix Loch, who recuperated immediately winning the Sprint race.

Russia, guided by Albert Demchenko, continues to convince putting three athletes in the top six and getting two second places: with Repilov in the World Cup and with Fedorov in the Sprint.

paola castaldi

You can read the Italian translation of my article on oasport.it at the following link: http://www.oasport.it/2016/11/slittino-dietro-le-quinte-a-winterberg-tartaglia-e-laddio-al-bob-azzurri-tra-speranze-e-difficolta/