Skeleton: Grotheer starts the season as a hunter
Olympic skeleton champion Christopher Grotheer returns to the scene of his greatest triumph at the start of the World Cup with mixed feelings. His joy is "still cautious, because after so few runs on ice you don't know exactly how far you've really come," the 31-year-old told the "Thüringer Allgemeine" ahead of the World Cup opener in Yanqing. However, he is certain that the emotions of the 2022 Olympics will be revived in China. "After it didn't work out with a World Cup in Yanqing last year, I'm happy to race on this track again, which we had so well under control in 2022."
Grotheer does not see himself as the favorite at the start of the season. This is mainly due to the last World Championships, when the Oberhof native only finished tenth when Great Britain's Matt Weston won. "The competition overtook us in terms of material. We thought that wouldn't happen so quickly," said Grotheer. "Now I'm the hunter." He had already driven a new prototype during training in Winterberg, which will also be in China.
Another factor is the lack of training on the ice. For environmental reasons, the German tracks were not iced over until later than in the past. Grotheer and Co. had to move to Lillehammer for the test runs and finance this themselves with the help of the club and sponsors. Meanwhile, the British were able to hold a three-week training camp in Sigulda, Latvia.
Grotheer will competing on the same Yanqing track where he achieved Olympic glory in the Skeleton World Cup, aiming to reignite the emotions from his 2022 victory. Despite not being viewed as the favorite due to other athletes' advancements in equipment and training, Grotheer is determined to hunt for victories with his new prototype sled.
Source: www.dpa.com
