Luge star Dominik Fischnaller: My hunger to win is still there
The Italian lover of luge and pizza missed out on an Olympic medal by milliseconds on two occasions, but is more motivated than ever to prove that he can perform on the biggest stage.
Luge
In luge terms, Dominik Fischnaller is something of a celebrity.
The Italian is a veteran of the sport, with two European titles and three World Championships bronze medals to his name.
These achievements, combined with his boyish charm, have made him a fan-favourite on the circuit, and his Instagram handle – where he shares his love for luge, pizza (of course!), and rock music - now boasts some 20k followers.
But at the Winter Olympics in February, he has the chance to triple, or even quadruple those numbers.
Italy has a proud luge history, with seven Olympic gold medallists, including the legendary Armin Zoeggeler. However, ever since the six-time Olympic medallist’s retirement in 2014, Germany – and most notably Felix Loch - has dominated the sport.
With Zoeggeler as his coach, Fischnaller now has the chance to bring Olympic gold back to his homeland in men’s singles luge.
“That will be really tough but it’s made me even more motivated to succeed. My hunger to win is still there,” he told he told Issuu.
Read on for a full profile of the luger.
You can watch him in action during the whole 2021-22 Luge World Cup season live on Olympic Channel via Olympics.com here, beginning 20-21 November at the Beijing 2022 Olympic track in Yanquing.
Making an impression in luge
Big things were expected of the multi-talented Fischnaller from an early age.
“I played football and took part in ski races back then but luge was my favourite sport. It came to me really naturally from the outset so I carried it on,” he told Issuu.
The Brixen-born athlete’s decision to focus on one sport paid dividends. He won the Junior Luge World Cup in 2010-11, in addition to one silver and two bronze medals at the Junior World Championships.
Following that success, Fischnaller made his senior World Cup debut later the same year. Despite having to compete against star names like Zoeggeler and Loch, the young Italian could call upon the support and experience of his elder brother Hans Peter, who had competed in doubles luge since 2003/04.
After a couple of seasons adjusting to the standard, the younger Fischnaller brother broke through in 2013-14, when he secured four podium finishes and his first victory in Lillehammer. He finished that campaign third overall, behind winner Loch and Zoeggeler in second.
Near misses and Olympic disappointments
With Zoeggeler announcing that the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics would be his last, the stage looked set for Italian luge’s torch to be passed to Fischnaller in Russia.
Luck, however, was against him.
While Loch landed the gold medal and Zoeggeler ended his legendary career with bronze, Fischnaller agonisingly missed out on the medals by two milliseconds.
Fuelled by that disappointment, he bounced back to land four podiums in 2014/15, a season which saw another Fischnaller enter the fray in Dominik’s cousin Kevin.
On a memorable evening at the Fischnaller’s ‘local’ track growing up in Igls, Dominik and Kevin sealed second and third respectively.
“Let's say that I like the Igls track ... also because it is so close to home (in north-eastern Italy), Dominik told Fast And Cool Sports.
“Family and friends always come to see me compete there. It was there that I did my first descents as a child.”
Germany and Loch
The man standing on top of the podium that day in Austria, was Loch. Who else?
Even before Zoeggeler’s retirement, the German was dominating the sport. With three Olympic gold medals under his belt, his rivals were playing catch up in every sense of the phrase.
Germany has an unmatched record in both men’s and women’s sliding sports, having won an astonishing 18 from 48 golds in Winter Olympic history, plus a further 13 claimed by East Germany prior to the nation's reunification. The European giants’ experience, passion, and resources are simply unmatched.
“They have four tracks – Königssee, Winterberg, Oberhof, and Altenburg – where they can train whenever they want and test their equipment throughout the year. We don’t have that,” Fischnaller said.
Perhaps this gap will close, therefore, with the construction of a new track in Cortina, northern Italy, for the 2026 Winter Olympics.
“That will definitely give the sport the boost it needs in Italy,” he continued.
Fischnaller's deya vu at PyeongChang 2018
There was a strange sense of deja vu for Fischnaller ahead of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics.
In the season preceding the big event, he appeared to once again be hitting his best form with two bronze medals at the 2017 World Championships and a World Cup victory in Lillehammer.
But at the Games in Korea he finished fourth, missing out on the medals by 0.002 of a second once again, while Kevin finished in seventh.
It is simply a fact that the tiniest of mistakes, or even a change in temperature, can affect the outcome of a luge race. This point was further emphasised in PyeongChang when an uncharacteristic error by the great Felix Loch meant that the German had to settle for fifth.
The Olympic cycle to Beijing 2022 has seen Fischnaller produce perhaps his most consistent form ever, with an impressive six podium finishes in the 2019-20 season, followed by his first European singles crown in Lillehammer.
He had finally proven to his rivals, and himself, that he could perform on the biggest stage under pressure.
The excitement in Italy surrounding their lugers was raised even higher in May 2021, when their team was announced for the Beijing 2022 Games. Alongside the two Fischnaller cousins, was another Zoeggeler. Nina, the daughter of Fischnaller’s coach, mentor and hero Armin Zoeggeler, will compete the Azzurri in the women’s singles competition.
Regardless of whether Italy reclaim their Olympic titles in the Chinese capital, it’s clear that the future of their nation’s luge programme is in good hands.