Olympic Champion Johannes Ludwig ends career

Oberhof (FIL / BSD) It is not easy to find the right time to quit competitive sport. Three-time Olympic Champion in Luge Johannes Ludwig (GER) seems to have found it. After his most successful season so far - in 30 years of luge - the Overall World Cup winner and Olympic Champion is now ending his competitive sport career.

At the age of 36, the man with the most start records worldwide (start time record on 8 tracks) won two gold medals at the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing 2022, won the big crystal globe of the EBERSPÄCHER World Cup Series 2021/22 for the first time, stood on the podium in seven of nine individual World Cups for this, five of them as the winner. The Thuringian won his first singles gold at the 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing and secured another Olympic gold in the team competition after PyeongChang 2018.

"Luge has been the fundamental content of my life since I was six years old. In the past 30 years, almost every day was determined by the sport of luge and demanded great privation from me, but also from my family environment. In the course of my career, I have learned that in competitive sport, above all, perseverance and confidence in one's own abilities are important elements for success," Johannes Ludwig explains in an official press release.

"I consider it a great gift that countless people have stood by me on my path through life so far. I would especially like to thank my family, my parents, my wife and my children, my junior coaches from BSR Rennsteig Oberhof (later WSV Oberhof), the federal base coach in Oberhof Jan Eichhorn, and my mechanic Robert Eschrich as well as the BSD head coach Norbert Loch. Competitive sport would be unthinkable without the support of my sponsors and the Federal Police, so they are also part of the sporting success story. I am looking forward to a new phase in my life. Professionally, my further career with the Federal Police will play a major role. But for now, the focus will be on my family. I'm looking forward to the summer and spending time with my children, who had to do without me for so long."

It was a long road for the Suhl-born top athlete to his four Olympic medals and three precious metals at World Championships. Five times he ended up in fourth place at World Championships. In 2013, Ludwig won World Championship bronze in the individual event in Whistler (CAN) and in 2017 he won World Championship gold with the team for the first time in Innsbruck (AUT). He can repeat the team gold in 2020 in Sochi (RUS).

At the 2018 Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, Johannes Ludwig won Olympic bronze in the individual race and Olympic victory with the team. Johannes Ludwig has won a total of ten World Cup races in the singles, five of them in his last season in 2021/22.

Johannes Ludwig is married and has lived with his wife and two children in Walsrode, Lower Saxony, since 2019. In the nearby Steinhuder Meer, the passionate sailor will spend more time sailing and wingfoiling in the future. After years of putting it on the back burner, he now wants to spend more time with his family. The police officer of the Federal Police with a BA degree in business administration from the University of Applied Management in Erding/Günzburg will also develop professionally. 

As an ambassador for the FIL Luge World Championships 2023 on his home track in Oberhof, Johannes Ludwig will remain connected to the sport of luge and the Thuringian Luge and Bobsleigh Federation.