Natalie Maag starts the Olympic winter with great ambitions

Natalie Maag is entering the Olympic season with great ambitions. The summer is going perfectly, her shoulder is no longer causing any problems and her performance figures are better than ever before. The fact that the association got into financial difficulties has no negative effects. "The summer has never seemed so short to me," says the only Swiss top luger with a laugh.

This is due not only to her good physical condition, but also to the surge in form last season. After two podium places (2nd in Yanqing, 3rd in Oberhof), Maag finished 5th in the overall World Cup, as well as at the World Championships in Whistler. This naturally whets her appetite for more. "I want to get closer to the globe," says the trained businesswoman from Wernetshausen confidently.

No time for friends and family

This also makes it clear that her focus is not solely on the Olympic Games, but of course a lot. Ninth four years ago in Yanqing, Maag is delighted that this time she will be competing for Olympic medals and diplomas practically in her own neighborhood - in the knowledge that this also brings its own challenges. "I've already had a lot of requests, but I had to make it clear to everyone around me that I'm very happy about the support, but that I won't have time for them in Cortina," she emphasizes. She uses races overseas and in Oberhof, where she has her temporary home during the season, as a comparison. "In Oberhof, the races are always a bit more energy-sapping. It's more relaxed in America, Canada or China."

No other member of the Swiss Sliding Association knows the new track in Cortina as well as Natalie Maag. She was one of only two international lugers to attend the opening for homologation in Italy last March. Now she is "a little disappointed" that the whole facility is still a big construction site, but is full of praise for the track. "It's ready to go," she says.

Optimal support in Cortina

As mentioned, Maag believes that the conditions for enjoyable games are ideal. This includes the fact that Daniela Mühlebach, who has been looking after her physically for several years, has been granted accreditation and will be on site. For track-specific matters, she is still embedded in the dominant German team and can benefit from their know-how.

In addition, she does not have to fulfill any specific criteria for Swiss Olympic. If she achieves the quota place for Switzerland (top 25), she will be selected. However, this should only be a formality. Maag greatly appreciates this trust. "In Beijing, the stress of qualifying was a bit of a downfall for me."

5th place in the test race

As the reconstruction of the ice track in Innsbruck-Igls - in contrast to Cortina - was a complete failure and the track is now unsuitable for lugers and skeleton racers, the start of this weekend's World Cup had to be moved from Tyrol to Winterberg. There are also still question marks over the World Cup in Sigulda at the beginning of January. The Russians are eligible to compete in luge again, but Latvia has so far shown no willingness to allow them to enter the country.

As there are now two World Cups in Winterberg before the Olympics, it has been decided that the test race last weekend in Cortina will be included in the ranking for the Olympic quota places. Despite a time-consuming mistake in the demanding turn 4, Maag announced her ambitions. In the second run, she moved up from 7th to 5th place. But that's not the end of the story; after last season, her expectations have risen further.

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