George Hackl moves to Austria as bobsled coach

sOdel legend, Georg Hackl, is leaving Germany and will work with his former biggest competitor. An offer from Austria convinced the three-time Olympic champion to try something new again. In the future, Huckle will serve as a coach for the association in the neighboring country, which is led by former rival Marcus Brock as president.

“Together with the athletes, we have rocked the world of skating, but now it’s time to go,” Hackl told Mercure/TZ media group in Munich on Tuesday. “The show was profitable for me.”

The daily Österreich and Die Welt had earlier reported on the corresponding discussions. The 55-year-old has worked for the German Football Association, which has had great success at the Olympics, for many years. Huckle explained that Brock approached him with an offer that made him very happy.

“very painful”

The German Association confirmed the departure. “I spoke with him for a long time, but the offer was very attractive to him,” the sporting director said. Thomas Schwab from the Munich Merkur/tz media group and named Hackl as a prominent figure.

Three-time Olympic champion Felix hole He looked surprised. “Of course, it’s so painful that Schurch left us after all the years we spent together,” said Locke, who would have liked to retire with Huckle. “For me he was more than just a coach. He has known me since I was young and we celebrated great successes together, we went through all the ups and downs of my career together.”

In addition to Olympic gold medals in 1992, 1994 and 1998 and two silvers, Hackl known as “Schorsch” has won several world titles and a total of 33 World Cup races. In November 2020, he was inducted into the German Sports Hall of Fame. According to media reports, he will be officially presented as part of the coaching team in Austria on Thursday.