Just about everyone seemed to want Georg Hackl to make history Monday except Georg Hackl.
The German luge superstar had a chance to win his fourth consecutive gold medal as he began the final two runs of the men’s singles at Utah Olympic Park. No Winter Olympian has accomplished that in an individual event, but Hackl barely seemed to notice, or care.
This is a man whose obsession with and devotion to his sport is the stuff of legend, so for him history was just one more distraction. Maybe that’s why Hackl thrust his right fist skyward in jubilation as he finished his final run, even though he knew that Italy’s Armin Zoeggeler–the next racer up–would almost surely end his run of gold.
Hackl accepted defeat graciously, pleased to have won any medal and almost relieved for the sake of his sport that the right person had finished No. 1, even if that person no longer was he.
“I’m satisfied and happy with the silver medal,” he said. “The gold medal was won by the best man. We are all sportsmen and accept that the best man wins.”
With a healthy 0.232-second lead through three runs, Zoeggeler probably could have taken his fourth run on a trash-can lid and still held off Hackl. The 28-year-old Italian policeman was unstoppable right from his first run Sunday.
He posted at least the second-fastest time on each of his four runs while compiling a total time of 2 minutes 57.941 seconds, a healthy 0.329 seconds ahead of Hackl. Austria’s Markus Prock finished third in 2:58.283. Adam Heidt of the U.S. was fourth in 2:58.606.
With his victory, Zoeggeler finally laid claim to the title of world’s top luger he seemed primed to attain after winning two world championships and two World Cup titles since he won the silver medal in the 1998 Olympics in Nagano, Japan.
“It was a long wait and a long way to this gold medal,” said Zoeggeler, who won a bronze medal in 1994 in Lillehammer, Norway. “It took a lot of power and energy, but now I’m really happy.”
Hackl, 35, said a shot at a fourth gold medal did not motivate him to compete in his fifth Olympics.
“My motivation to come here was first and foremost my sport,” he said. “Maybe we can talk about history later, but not right now.”
The silver medal, which matched the one Hackl won in 1988 in Calgary, did make him the first Olympian to win a medal in five consecutive Winter Games. Through all those Games he finished ahead of Prock, who won two silver medals plus Monday’s bronze.
Afterward, the 37-year-old Prock said he was 99 percent sure he was retiring.
Though only 24, Heidt said he will evaluate whether to continue making the sacrifices in time and money that a luge career demands. Monday he was content to savor achieving the best Olympic finish ever for a U.S. singles luger.
Heidt was fourth after Sunday’s two runs and took the lead briefly after his fourth race until Prock, Hackl and Zoeggeler passed him.
“I felt right up until the end I had a shot at a medal,” he said. “I never sell myself short.
“This may not be a medal, but it’s the highest ever for an American, and I’m pretty happy with that.”
