Georg HACKL

Close duels

At the 1988 Olympic Games in Calgary, Hackl finished second to fellow German Jens Müller. Because Hackl had trouble with his start, a start range was built for him at the Königssee luge course near his home in Berchtesgaden. The increased practice paid off as he won the gold medal at the 1992 Olympic Games in Albertville by defeating Marcus Prock of Austria in the closest men's singles competition in 24 years. The repeat duel between Hackl and Prock at the Olympic Games in 1994 was even closer. Georg won again, but the contest was so close that if the four runs had been a single race, he would have won by less than 35 centimetres after 5.6 kilometres of sliding

Writing Olympic history

At the 1998 Nagano Games, Hackl survived a protest against his new, aerodynamically advanced yellow booties to earn a third gold medal. In doing so, he became only the sixth person in the history of the Winter Games to win the same individual event three times. At the Games in 2002, Hackl barely edged Prock once again, but this time both of these veterans were beaten by Armin Zöggeler of Italy. Still, Hackl brought his Olympic medals total to three golds and two silvers. Although injured for part of the season and aged 40, in 2006 in Turin, Georg Hackl participated in his 6th Olympic Games and placed 7th.