The Russian athletes want to reach for precious metal in Beijing!

Sigulda (FIL) Russia and formerly the Soviet Union (URS) have won one gold, five silver and three bronze medals at Olympic Winter Games since the Olympic debut of luge in Innsbruck (AUT) in 1964. The team, which will compete for the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) in Beijing 2022, wants to reach for more precious metal. The preparations on the way to the XXIV Olympic Winter Games are in full swing.

Head coach Sergey Chudinov tells us: "We have already carried out a series of training measures. We started in Kislovodsk to adjust the load, then training in the Moscow region for health-promoting measures and work on the start ramp to improve the start technique. Now we are in the process of doing roller training in Sigulda, Latvia, specifically to recall luge, speed, peripheral vision and overall awareness on the track."

All members of the national team have come through the preparation so far without any major injuries. Chudinov is happy: "This year there were no serious problems with injuries. The athletes started their pre-season training at full strength. At the first training camp there were absences, but only because of studies. The students took their exams. Now the whole team is preparing".

Training courses will follow in Paramonovo. There they will work on the starting technique on special equipment and on the ice start ramp. In September, there will be another training camp in Sochi by the sea to give the athletes the opportunity to recover and gather strength before an important and difficult season.

At the beginning of October, the Russian national team will start ice training on the track in Sochi. Further ice luge sessions have been planned in Latvia and Germany before the team heads to the new Olympic track in China for the International Training Week and the start of the World Cup.

"The athletes have qualified through a central pre-season training, there will still be some qualifying competitions for participation in the international competitions of the coming season. Based on the results of these competitions, the coaching staff will decide the list of athletes for the coming season. This decision will be made before the competition in China, which opens the season calendar," reports head coach Chudinov.

The Olympic qualification in Russia will take place according to the FIL guidelines. The athletes with the highest score will be included in the team.

Sergey Chudinov is looking positively and motivated towards the Olympic Winter Games: "Now that we are representing the Russian Olympic Committee, the situation is still better than at the Games in Korea. The situation with Russia's disqualification from major international competitions affected us acutely and hard for the first time in PyeongChang. That was already very stressful at that time. I don't want to say that we have got used to it by now, but at least: we are competing for the National Olympic Committee, the logo with the Olympic rings and the colours of the Russian flag. The athletes in Tokyo were inspired by it and they achieved good results".

Watch the Russian athletes in preparation to the Beijing 2022 Olympics: https://youtu.be/sjqEt-b8wYE