Why Czech skeleton star Anna Fernstädt is one to watch at Beijing 2022
She is the only athlete ever to win three consecutive junior world championships, all while switching from Germany to the Czech Republic. Here, we look at five other facts you may not have known about her.
Skeleton
Anna Fernstädt is going places fast in skeleton.
Despite growing up as a promising gymnast, a move to south-eastern Germany saw her try, and fall in love with a sport that sees athletes fly down the ice at 140 kmph.
An impressive junior career saw her become the only athlete ever to win three consecutive junior world championships from 2018-2020.
But after competing for Germany at the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics, she switched allegiances to the land of her birth, the Czech Republic, and now also goes by the name Anna Fernstädtova.
At only 24 years old, Fernstädt is set to become a star of the sport in the future, and is a potential medal threat at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics after finishing sixth at the test event in Yanqing.
But how well do you know the sliding sensation, who can be classed as a skeleton influencer due to her impressive social media following?
- A multi-skilled athlete
Fernstädt's first sporting love couldn’t have been more different than skeleton, in terms of performing conditions.
The Prague-born athlete was a talented gymnast, where there’s no danger of having to navigate the elements. She also proclaimed herself a Simone Biles #fangirl on social media - clearly following her career.
In addition to that, Fernstädt also played volleyball, handball, swimming, and even practised ballet twice a week.
But after moving to Berchtesgaden in south-eastern Germany, opportunities in those sports became limited and she picked up skiing. Then, aged 14, she tried skeleton for the first time.
But her athletic roots still came in handy:
“Gymnastics is the basis of all sports,” she told Novinky. “Thanks to it I know how to work with my body, and it helps me on the skeleton track.
“I did it for seven years and it helped me with all of my sports in fact. Perhaps they could hire me for the circus!”
- Switching from Germany to the Czech Republic
Germany are a formidable sliding nation, with a seemingly endless conveyor belt of world champions and Olympic medallists.
After rising to the top of that system, and finishing sixth at the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics, Fernstädt switched to compete for the land of her and her mother’s birth, the Czech Republic.
However, eligibility rules meant that she could not take part in the World Cup during the 2018-19 season, and she competed instead on the developmental Intercontinental Cup circuit which she won.
"I feel like I enjoy it more," she told Czech newspaper Idnes of her switch from Germany to the Czech Republic. "I like to do sports and I do it for myself, not for someone else. I'm happier under less pressure."
“To win the first medal for the Czech Republic here in Konigssee means a lot to me because I've learned to ride here. That's why it's very nice.”
- From ‘running like an elephant, to like the wind’
Given that the skeleton prodigy is such a talented athlete, it may come as a surprise to find out that she ‘ran like an elephant’ according to Czech team movement coach Josef Andrle.
Under his guidance, and that of physiotherapist Jakub Marek - who also works with Czech snowboarding Olympic gold medallist Ester Ledecka - they went back to basics, teaching her how to walk properly!
“I had a bad style,” she said. “So we devoted ourselves to improving.
“I would walk around the room, with the coaches watching my every step. My ankles are very weak, which mean my knees are going inside, and my pelvis is a little crooked.”
But one look at Fernstädt's Instagram shows that she is spending a lot of time out on the running track with Andrle, who has her looking like a sprinter with a learner physique.
“I went from running like an elephant to like the wind!”
- Anna Fernstädt: Social media influencer
Fernstädt boasts a whopping 13K Instagram followers - which makes her a celebrity in skeleton terms.
Her sporting achievements, combined with her fascinating story, cheerful demeanour and commitment to taking fans behind-the-scenes both on and off the ice mean that she is a huge hit online.
“I like Instagram the most, it’s the friendliest,” she told Iceatrail, before revealing a more pragmatic reason to be active on social media. “The more active you are, the more interest you get for sponsors.”
“It’s easier to get new fans and you get more people interested in the sport than before. It’s good for you as an athlete, but also for your sport, and that’s even more important I think.”
But it’s not all about sport, check out this frightening Halloween post. Her rivals better watch out!
- An anti-adrenaline junkie
Despite her flying down ice tunnels at 140 kmph just inches away from ice for a living, Fernstädt is anything but a thrill-seeker away from the ice.
Instead, she likes to spend her downtime in tranquil settings like the beach.
“I don't plan a hike to Sněžka (a 1,603m mountain on the Czech-Polish border) or ride a motorcycle. I'm afraid of heights, for example no one would even get me to the Petřín lookout tower (a 63m building in Prague).
Perhaps her adrenaline kicks come from books?
The star student is a maths whizz, and is currently studying at the University of Finance and Administration in Prague.
“I’m the number one in my German class!” she says with a smile.