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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. ”
