Austrian bobsleigh sensation: mother of two participates in the men’s World Cup

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A woman like Anna Schenk (29) probably only exists once in the world. The South Tyrolean is a dog psychologist, became a mother twice as a teenager, raises her children (now 11 and 13) alone, is a bobsled pusher – and as of this week she is one of the few women who have taken part in the men’s World Cup competition .

“That was actually a special day,” Schenk tells Blick with a laugh. Because the day at the Lillehammer Ice Canal starts quite normally. In the morning she rode together with Ösi pilot Katrin Beierl (30) to 7th place in the women’s race, including a fall in the 2nd run.

That would actually be on a normal race day. But in the Austrian men’s team, one of the pushers has such severe back pain that starting is impossible. The team of pilot Markus Treichl (28) has no replacement – what now? “They asked me,” says Schenk, “I said: of course I’m there! My only requirement was that I could push left because I’m left-handed.”

“The boys were very nice to me”

According to regulations, one woman is allowed in a foursome. And Schenk at least has some experience. Before moving to Austria, she once took part in a European Cup race in the Italian men’s foursome.

That doesn’t help her much that day in Lillehammer. Without any training for four people – getting into the big sled at full speed actually takes a lot of practice – the Ösi team starts with three men and a highly motivated woman who is a head shorter than the rest of the crew. “The boys were very nice to me, but we were all very nervous about the first run,” she says. The deal: the three men don’t go to any lengths to get in and get down safely. “I then started running out of the blocks at a high cadence, like a sprint start.” The start time: 5.17 seconds.

Knowing that Schenk will succeed, the quartet accelerates more in the second run. 5.10 seconds! That is more than respectable, it is the 15th starting time of 19 teams – even the Swiss teams of Michael Vogt (5.04) and Cédric Follador (5.05) do not start noticeably faster with their concentrated power. Schenk describes that she certainly played a role in the start-up push. “I certainly felt pressure on the hanger.”

Ultimately, the Treichl team finished in 14th place and thanks to Schenk’s spontaneous efforts, they scored some World Cup points instead of zero. Her conclusion: “It was a lot of fun!”

Source : Blick