Sigulda (RWH) Matthias Guggenberger from Austria is the new coach of the Latvian skeleton athletes Martins Dukurs, the world's most successful athlete in this sport, and his brother Tomass. This was confirmed by the Latvian Bobsled & Skeleton Federation.
Matthias Guggenberger was Skeleton athlete for Austria from 2006 to 2018. He participated in three Winter Olympics, finishing eighth in Vancouver in 2010. With the Austrian team, the today 34-years-old took bronze at the 2016 BMW IBSF World Championships in Innsbruck (AUT).
Martins Dukurs is by far the most successful skeleton athlete with six world titles, nine European Championships gold medals and eight victories in the overall World Cup ranking. Together with his older brother Tomass, 2016 European Champion tied with his brother, Martins Dukurs had resigned after the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, but took back the decision before the next season.
The declared goal of Martins and Tomass Dukurs with their new coach Matthias Guggenberger is to compete for the medals at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. Tomass missed bronze in 2010 and 2014, finishing fourth. Martins will then fight for the only major success, which is still missing in the collection: after silver in 2010 and 2014, he wants to compete for Olympic gold. ©RWH2019
