Category: TAGEBLATT

Tageblatt Article | Luxembourg Skeleton | 27 Oct 2021

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Jeff Bauer would be 48 years old at a possible Olympic premiere

A Luxembourgish winter sports enthusiast can hardly be more exotic than Jeff Bauer. The sports with sledges are dominated by a few nations and while the bobsleigh athletes and tobogganists like the Luxembourgers of 1928 and 1936 slide down the ice rink on the very best, the skeleton pilots have been throwing themselves headlong into the games since 2002 (and before that in 1928 and 1948) Ice chute. The sports-crazy former basketball player of the youth national team discovered his passion for this sport late,but has been pursuing his Olympic dream consistently ever since. Since he lived in the Grand Duchy for ten years as a teenager, Jeff Bauer received the Luxembourg nationality in 2018 and established himself as the fastest from the “exotic” countries as 31st at the 2019 and 2021 World Championships. At his Olympic premiere in Beijing he would be 48, but with his commitment, Bauer convinced both the COSL and the FLSG association and is training full-time with the Austrian team this winter. As 57th in the world rankings, he would have just made the criterion of the world’s best 60 last season. Since the skeleton riders will give their colleagues five starting positions in 2022, the ambitious athlete will have to achieve one of only 25 starting positions for a total of 15 nations.

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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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.

 

 

Tageblatt Dec 2019 Jeff Bauer wants to qualify for the Olympics at age 46

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Skeleton / Luxembourg’s Jeff Bauer wants to qualify for the Olympics at the age of 46

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Jeff Bauer is the only skeleton in Luxembourg history. After missing the 2018 Olympics for bureaucratic reasons, he wants to qualify again for the games at the age of 46. An unusual path – especially because he only discovered the sport nine years ago.

With one hand on his 33 kg skeleton, Jeff Bauer stands at the start of the Whistler (CAN) ice channel. He wears special spikes that make it easier to start on the ice surface. In front of him is a 1,450 meter long route with 16 curves, which Bauer will drive in a few moments at more than 130 km / h. The light switches to green, Bauer runs about 50 meters to lie on his stomach on the skeleton. He puts his arms close to his sides, his legs protrude from the knees beyond the super-flat sled. His face is only a few centimeters above the ice. After the first bends, its speed is over 100 km / h. “It is not harmless,” explains the 46-year-old. “But it is much more dangerous for tobogganists. As skeletons, we don’t fall that often because the skeleton is heavy. ”The higher center of gravity, on the other hand, makes it more risky for tobogganists. At the 2010 Olympic Games, the Georgian tobogganist Nodar Kumaritaschvili died in the Whistler ice channel. The high-speed course has not only been one of the most difficult routes in the world since the tragic accident. “Fifty-Fifty” have called skeletonis, bobsleighers and tobogganists the most dangerous of the curves: the likelihood of surviving them without falling. “I fall more often,” says Bauer. “I am aware of the risk of sport. I haven’t done anything worse than bruises. ”

But that bruises are now part of his everyday life is part of a strange story: nine years ago he discovered sport – now the 46-year-old is talking about Olympia. In sports he had already earned his participation in 2018. The Ohio-born athlete was missing a legal signature to get his Luxembourg passport. The signing came too late, Bauer unfortunately regretted what was happening on the home screen. The fact that he has a right to Luxembourgish citizenship is due to the history of his family. After the Second World War, Bauer’s grandfather went to Luxembourg to hire Goodyear in Colmar-Berg. Bauer’s father also followed in his father’s footsteps in 1979 and brought 6-year-old Jeff with him to the Grand Duchy. Jeff went to school here, learned the languages, and even made it into the junior basketball team. Bauer returned to the United States after twelve years in Luxembourg. Four generations of the Bauer family will have already spent time in Luxembourg when Jeff’s nephew will soon study in Luxembourg.

Bauer currently lives in Park City, Utah. He lives not far from the route that was used at the 2002 Olympic Games. Bauer also discovered sport because of its proximity to the ice channel. At the age of 39, he dared to go down the route for the first time. “I didn’t start with Skeleton because I was thinking about being able to take part in the Olympics,” explains Bauer. “I love sport and new challenges.” When Bauer discovered his talent, his training became more intensive and his ambitions bigger. Bauer began competing in North America to later be active all over the world: St. Moritz, Königssee (Austria), La Plagne (France), Calgary (Canada) or Sochi (Russia) are among the places where he was already starting. In the 2017/18 season, his results were so good that he qualified for the Olympics – had it not been for the bureaucracy mentioned. “It was very bitter for me, as it would have been a dream to go to the Olympics.” It was only in June last year that he received the Luxembourg ID. In March of this year he wore the red, white and blue colors at the World Championships in Whistler, where he finished 31st.

Nationality should therefore no longer fail that Bauer may not take part in the Olympics. But the standards for the 2022 Olympic Games have become stricter. “I have to be in the top 60 in the world,” says Bauer. “Last year I was in 57th place. But it’s all pretty tight. I have to work a lot on myself and confirm my achievements this year and next. ”By participating in the Olympics 2022 in Beijing, Bauer wants to fulfill a dream. “I see it as a realistic goal.”

He trains five times a week for this – on a training day in the canal, he drives down the route three times. “It sounds like little, because a run doesn’t take longer than a minute. But it is so demanding on the body that you need a lot of regeneration time. After three runs, you completed the daily workload. ”Bauer is meanwhile supported by the COSL and the Ministry of Sport. “I am extremely grateful to you for your help. I wouldn’t be able to do all of this without the support. ”Despite the distance, the elite squad athlete is still strongly connected to the Grand Duchy. He still has some friends with whom he is in constant contact. In these conversations, he tries not to completely unlearn the Luxembourgish language. “I am very proud to be able to start for Luxembourg. I am very attached to this country.