Category: PRESS

Tageblatt Article | Luxembourg Skeleton | 4 Feb 2021

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Winter sports / skeleton pilot Jeff Bauer lives the Olympic dream

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Translation

At his age, most people think of retirement rather than the climax of their own athletic careers. But Jeff Bauer, born in 1974, continues to dream of daring to plunge into a steep ice channel on a skeleton in Beijing in 2022.

Tageblatt: How does the pandemic affect preparations for Beijing 2022?

Jeff Bauer: That is a difficult question that only time can really answer. Because of the pandemic, no points will be awarded this year and all rankings are frozen. I will then see how that affects qualification in the next year.

And for you personally?

I just try to keep improving. At the beginning of November I was able to train with the Swiss in Igls and then for the first time in Altenberg with the Spanish. It is a very difficult and dangerous route with an intimidating reputation. On my first run, I also had a nasty accident in the fourth corner. Later I was able to work in Königssee with Florian Graßl, who became vice world champion there in 2004. That went very well until I tested positive for Corona and stayed in quarantine in the hotel for ten days asymptomatic. I trained in the room as much as possible and also worked in my job as an engineer.

After the vacation I recently finished a two-week block of training and competition in Altenberg. There I was able to leave five starters behind in 17th place in a strong Intercontinental Cup with world and Olympic champions. I will soon be training with the Austrians and also be a pre-starter in a World Cup with them before there are two races in Königssee. Then it’s back to Altenberg for the World Cup (on February 11th and 12th, editor).

In Beijing you would be 48 as a newcomer. What motivates you at this age?

I have been motivated since my youth in Luxembourg. I just love sports. I also enjoy traveling and being part of a team. The way to Beijing is actually just a continuation of my career as an athlete. My motivation is that I just do what I love. In other sports you can see athletes who are still competing at this age. I’m learning a lot about myself right now, my skills, my body and even skeleton are some of the best in their high thirties.

But to what extent is your age also a disadvantage?

It would be hard if I didn’t love it so much. My strength trainer Anthony Schlegel is planning the toughest workouts of my career for me and I never thought that this intensity would be possible on so many days of the week. In addition, I am training my flexibility this year. My trainer Monya Maleki is still a student, but at my age she is fascinated by the task, which is also part of her research. I’ve never been very agile, but I am more agile than ever.

You have to travel a lot. How did that get more difficult?

With all the corona tests for flights, it’s a little more difficult this year. Even if I want to go on a new track, I need a new test. And then again for one competition the next. Then the hotels will need negative tests again and I always have to have papers with me that identify me as a professional athlete.

Five quota places deleted

A few years ago you only knew a few basketball players. You have been the sporting ambassador of the Grand Duchy for years. What has changed since then?

Starting with my grandfather, who fought there in World War II, Luxembourg has always had its place in the heart of the Bauer family. He moved there with my father in the 50s. Just like my father spent ten years there with me as a teenager. As a junior, I already played for the national basketball team. With Skeleton, however, this reaches a whole new level, a much greater significance. It is a great honor to represent the country. In the world of skeleton and bobsleigh riders, I actually see myself as an ambassador for Luxembourg. A role for which I am grateful and which I take very seriously.

Is it harder to compete as an athlete in a small nation?

The biggest challenge is arguably the size of the Luxembourg skeleton team and how new the sport is here. But I am in constant contact with Heinz Thews and FLSG Association President Nadine Knepper. They follow my progress and support me where they can. Which feels really good. I was also able to find partnerships with other nations. But it would be nice to have a permanent coach, because sometimes I go to competitions without knowing whether I’ll even have a coach by my side.

How competitive is your material? After all, university centers in other nations are even researching how to improve them.

It is true that some nations have been researching their sleds for decades and manufacture exclusive sleds for their pilots. These are adapted to the individual courses and even the respective conditions. But I also invested in a very good sled that is adjustable. At the moment it is more important for me to learn the courses and lines and to improve my personal weaknesses.

In the world of skeleton and bobsleigh riders, I actually see myself as an ambassador for Luxembourg

Jeff Bauer,

How do you actually see your chances for the Olympic Games in 2022?

The international association has certainly made things more difficult by losing five quota places to just 25 participants. But I definitely believe that I have the opportunity to qualify. Especially if I keep improving like this season.

Is there already a plan for the time after that?

At the moment I’m very focused on 2022. But after that I would like to work to ensure that Skeleton continues to grow in the country. A few years ago, two students from the University of Innsbruck joined the Luxembourg team and drove their first training runs. With Covid-19 it is currently difficult to expand the team. But even after 2022, I hope that Luxembourg will continue to show its presence in international skeleton competitions.

 

 

MENTAL.LU VIDEO | CORONA VIRUS by Jeff Bauer

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Containment, restrictions … Like us, athletes are undergoing the upheavals due to the corona virus epidemic. Contacted by Mental, they wanted to give you their news and above all bring you strength and courage for the future!

Every day, our champions will come and say a few words to you. This morning, it’s Jeff Bauer from Utah in the USA who tells you how he lives this period.

TRANSLATION OF THE VIDEO

My name is Jeff Bauer. I have competed for Luxembourg as a Skeleton athlete for the past 4 seasons including 2 world championships and 1 world cup competition.   I live and train in Park City, Utah where I work full time. I am an engineer.  

 

All of the restaurants, stores, gyms, and non-essential businesses are closed but due to the nature of my work, I am required to go into the office every day.   

Because the gym where I normally train is now closed, I am trying to create a gym in my garage to continue my training.  But as you can see it is empty.  Everyone else had the same great idea and now there is very little equipment in stock.  I placed an order 2 weeks ago and I am waiting very patiently for it to arrive.

I have learned a lot about the strength of the human spirit when faced with dangerous challenges.  I have learned to face them head first, full speed ahead.  The world is now faced with the challenge of defeating a dangerous, invisible competitor.  I am confident the strength of the human spirit will join forces to defeat this deadly virus full speed ahead.

To all of my friends in Luxembourg and throughout the world:  May you and your families be well during this difficult time.

Luxemburger WORT Sigulda World Cup article

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Jeff Bauer: More than adrenaline

When he starts up in the ice channel, Jeff Bauer hides his surroundings. There is only him and his sled left. Photo: John Bauer

Luxembourg has a deep emotional meaning for skeleton pilot Jeff Bauer. Its history begins after the Second World War.

In 2018 Jeff Bauer missed participation in the Winter Olympics due to a missing signature. In two years the skeleton pilot wants to make it to Beijing at the age of 48. The Grand Duchy plays an important role in this.

“There are no coincidences”

When Jeff Bauer’s story begins, he wasn’t even born. After the Second World War, Bauer’s American grandfather marched through Luxembourg with the Allies. It crosses the village of Fels. 36 years later, Bauer’s father moved to Europe with the family around the then six-year-old Jeff for a job at Goodyear – and found a new home in Fels of all places.

There are no coincidences, ”says Jeff Bauer when he talks about his family’s history. The bond with Luxembourg is not only an entry in the annals for the now 46-year-old, but extremely emotional. “Luxembourg was the last place we really were together,” he says. “This is why this country is so important to me.” When Bauer returned to the United States with his family in the 1990s, the parents separated. From then on, Jeff’s connection to Luxembourg was set in stone.

Olympic dream

Bauer is now wearing his former homeland on his chest: he has been a Luxembourg citizen for almost two years – and regularly plunges down an ice channel as a semi-professional in the skeleton bobsleighing discipline. But what started as a hobby around five years ago has now become more ambitious.

“I learn quickly,” explains Bauer about his short-term progress, which currently led him to 90th place in the world rankings. Bauer will start on Saturday at the European Championships in Sigulda, Latvia. In two years he wants to be at the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing (CHN).

“That is my ultimate goal,” explains Bauer. “But the qualification is even more difficult this time.” While there were 30 skeleton starting positions in Pyeongchang (KOR) in 2018, there will now be only 25 in the Chinese capital. Since some countries are only allowed to send one athlete, Bauer has to advance to the top 60 in the world rankings on his own account.

Little tragedy

The ambitious athlete knows exactly what it feels like to have the goal in mind. Bauer had the required ranking for the past winter games, all he needed was the Luxembourg passport. But after passing the language test, for which he was only given a place at the last second as a replacement, his Olympic debut failed due to the bureaucracy.

The decisive signature came too late – even though the organizers in Pyeongchang had postponed the deadline especially for him. But this “little tragedy” is ticked off. “I’m all the happier now that I’m finally Luxembourgish. I’m extremely proud of that, ”says Bauer, who has been part of the COSL elite team since July last year.

The next fall is sure to come

The 46-year-old lives in the USA, in Park City in the state of Utah. There, not far from the ice channel of the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, Bauer discovered his passion. “I’ve only been competing since 2016,” he reveals. “When you do what you love, your heart, soul and body are in harmony. Then you get better quickly, ”the New Luxembourger is certain. This enthusiasm for sports was already noticeable in his youth in the Grand Duchy when Bauer was playing basketball for the young Luxembourg team.

His current passion is much colder – and more painful. During training in Latvia, Bauer promptly flew off the sled and injured his thigh. It was far from his first fall. Also at the World Cup in Lake Placid (USA) in December the winter sports enthusiast was caught at full speed. “My Latvian trainer Lelde Priedulena asked me right after the race how I was doing. I was unsettled but intact. She said that I had to go down again immediately. I needed a good run to get the fall out of my head. ”

In the skeleton, the athletes ride on their stomach on a special toboggan through an ice channel. The name came about because of the sled, which was reminiscent of a steel skeleton, especially in the first models. In 1928, Skeleton made its debut at the Olympic Games in St. Moritz (CH). After a long break, with a short comeback at the 1948 Winter Games, the discipline was resumed in 2002 in Salt Lake City (USA). Acting Olympic champion is South Korean Yun Sung-bin.

Luxembourg in the heart

In Sigulda too, Bauer is concerned with gaining experience and gaining routine. “I want to get to know as many routes as possible this season – and deliver respectable times,” he explains. Bauer has been chasing ice in Germany, Russia, Canada, the USA and now Latvia since mid-October. The many trips allowed him to work as an engineer at Triumph Gear Systems. In the process planning for aviation, the elite athlete can organize his work on the go on a laptop.

Bauer also strengthens the connection to his chosen nation between the units. “I take Luxembourgish lessons on Skype once a week. Above all, I want to be able to speak to the other athletes in their mother tongue. ”The importance the small country has for the American-born is clearly noticeable. “My family and I talk more about Luxembourg than ever before. It’s not just sport for me, it’s a lot more. ”