LUGE is like driving a Formula 1 car, said Johannes Ludwig after winning the men’s singles Sunday. Ludwig would never compare himself with Lewis Hamilton or Max Verstappen as income, attention, and speed speak for entirely contrary worlds. But his sport has a lot in common with the motor racing superstars, he is convinced. Like in the Formula 1 circus, driving talent doesn’t inevitably make champions. Both sports require the ability to develop a feeling for improvements of the driving machine and athletes need to supply feedback to the mechanics responsible for the fine-tuning. Comparisons might continue when it comes to perseverance. For Ludwig, the gold medal at the 2022 Winter Olympics comes as the crowning of a career. Setbacks and disappointment might made him doubting but never let his passion vanish for racing down an ice-packed canal. Ludwig may have won gold in 2018 in the team event, but never made it to the top in the singles. In Pyeongchang, he won the singles bronze medal. Brushing aside all the talk about his advanced age, he decided to face another four years of intense training and take the last attempt at the Games in China. “I stayed tuned despite all the ups and downs. I thought I was so near a lot of times. It gave me motivation and confidence to try once more,” the German said. Now he can’t believe having fulfilled his boldest dreams. Tears of joy were rolling down his cheeks when he spoke about difficult weeks behind him. Painful long weeks, he couldn’t see his wife and two kids and kept a self-imposed quarantine to address strict safety rules. “As many I invested a lot to experience the dream of Olympic Games,” he said. (Xinhua) | 