normal magazin nummer23 winter

Lena Häcki wuchs sehr polyspor- tiv auf und begann erst mit 14 Jahren mit Biathlon. Ihr gelang ein fast kometenhafter Aufstieg. Lena Häcki grew up doing lots of different sports and only settled on biathlon at the age of 14. Since then her rise has been almost meteoric.

Buchungsplattform mit Hintergrundinfos und Film über die fünf Olympioniken sowie persönlichen Ausflugstipps der Engelberger Athleten: www.engelberg.ch/schneegarantie

Visit www.engelberg.ch/schneegarantie to make a booking, f ind out more, watch a v id- eo about the f ive Engelberg Olympians, and f ind out their persona l tips for places to go.

“Switzerland’s most Olympic village” – that’s what daily newspaper Tages-Anzeiger dubbed Engelberg in January 2018. Five athletes from the village competed in the 2018 Winter Olym- pics in South Korea. And two of them returned home with a gold medal! Back in 2014, Engelberg was proud to send four athletes to the Olympics in Sochi: Alpine ski racers Denise Feierabend, Dominique Gisin and Michelle Gisin, and freestyler Fa- bian Bösch. Engelberg experienced a wave of euphoria when Dominique took gold af ter a spectacular downhill battle. No one could have believed that triumph would be bet- tered, but that’s exactly what happened in the 2018 Games. By then, Dominique had retired, but Engelberg remained well represented in South Ko- rea – this time by a remarkable five athletes: Denise, Michelle and Fabian were joined by Michelle’s brother Marc Gisin, also an Alpine skier, and by biathlete Lena Häcki. And this time two of the Olympians returned home with gold medals: Michelle won the women’s combined event while Denise triumphed in the mixed team event. Lena Häcki also per- formed well at the Games, with two top ten finishes, in pursuit and the women’s relay. Of course the village went wild all over again! If you come from Engelberg, you are of ten asked what it is that makes it such a breeding ground for talent. Of course, there isn’ t a single reason. Instead it’s down to a combination of various favourable elements. The fact that there are ski slopes right outside the door is cer tainly an impor tant factor. In Engelberg, children learn to ski almost before they can walk, and from a young age they have the oppor tunity to join a well-organised ski

club that works hard to promote up-and-coming talent. Of ten, the parents are passionate skiers who pass that enthusiasm on to their children. Engelberg is a village of many spor ts, and young people are encouraged to try out several: cross-country skiing, figure skating, tennis, tug-of-war, and more. There is a surpris- ing number of spor ts clubs for a place with just 4, 400 inhabitants. Another impor tant driver of talent is the Spor tmittelschule. Being able to attend such a renowned spor ts academy in one’s home town is a tremendous boost for any

budding young athlete. A to- tal of 14 alumni of the school and two current pupils were members of the Swiss Olympic team in South Korea this year. Now, the five Olympi- ans are helping to promote

The five Olympians are proud to promote Engelberg.

Engelberg as a tourist destination. “They were all delighted to be asked to be brand ambas- sadors for Engelberg,” says Marco Zemp, head of marketing at Engelberg-Titlis Tourismus. Their job is to point out to holidaymakers that Engelberg doesn’ t only provide perfect con- ditions for elite athletes, it’s also great for hobby skiers thanks to its guaranteed snow. All the athletes love their home vil- lage so it wasn’ t hard to get them involved. It was less easy to find a date for a shared pho- toshoot: five athletes, three dif ferent spor ts, and five packed training and competition schedules. “In the end we had to invite them into the studio separately and then combine the images on the computer,” says Marco. The photo may have been staged, but the fivesome’s appreciation for Engelberg is entirely genuine. They are fully aware that the excellent conditions here helped them launch their careers, and are grateful to have been raised in this home of champions.

Michelle Gisin gewann in Pyeong- chang Gold in der Kombination. Eine wunderbare Geschichte, insbesondere darum, weil vier Jahre zuvor ihre Schwester Dominique Abfahrtsgold holte. Keeping it in the family: Michelle Gisin won gold in the combined event in Pyeo- ngchang. Four years before that, big sister Dominique took gold in the downhill.

Marc Gisin kämpfte sich nach einer Kopfverletzung mit lang- wierigen Folgen zurück und sicherte sich im letzten Mo- ment noch das Olympiaticket. Marc Gisin joined the Olympic squad at the last minute. He has been fighting his way back to top form since suffering a serious head injury in 2015.

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