Mr. Hackl, first the important things: How is your shoulder?

George Hackl: I’m still in a lot of pain because the nerve was brutally stretched and severely damaged. I have sensory problems, my fingertips are numb, my hand and forearm are furry. But it gets a little better every day. That gives me hope.

Surgery is not necessary?

Hackl: Not at my age anymore, the doctor said. If I were a young athlete with ambition and wanted to do pull-ups and handstands, then surgery would make sense. But like that…

How did this crash in Cortina d’Ampezzo even happen?

Hackl: In order to get to the parts of the track where it is critical to observe the driving technique, where the trainers have to go in order to see something and be able to give the athletes instructions, I climbed in there. There is actually a very good grating path next to the track, but behind the curve it becomes very narrow and goes down around 1.80 meters. I had to climb in there, got stuck, stepped down with momentum, thought that there was already the wide path, but it was only half a meter away – then the second step was in vain.

Did anyone even find you there, or were you still able to move around yourself?

Hackl: A few coaching colleagues were nearby and heard a crash. They then somehow pulled me up.

This is certainly not how you imagined your last Olympic Games would be!

Hackl: Well, really not. That was bitter.

“We Germans used to laugh at the Italians – today we are the banana republic that can’t get anything done anymore.”

Apart from the accident: what was it like in Cortina?

Hackl: Of course great. Olympic Games finally in a classic winter sports resort again! Cortina is fantastic, I love going on holiday there, it’s just beautiful. And I would like to express a huge compliment to the Italian government for being able to build a railway there within a year. Sensational, great class! Even Matteo Salvini, who is the second highest in Italy, was there, disguised in the clothes of a volunteer. But I recognized his face straight away, and he saw that I recognized him, and I gave him a thumbs up…

…because he said: ‘Basta, we’re building this railway now!’

Hackl: That’s leadership! And allow me to get political for a moment: This is leadership that I miss so much in Germany, in this government, as in the last and the last one. We Germans used to laugh at the Italians – today we are the banana republic that can’t get anything done. No Stuttgart train station, a Berlin airport that was completed far too late, the bridge in Dresden is still not repaired, nor is the Königseer toboggan run. You don’t have to rebuild the entire track, it’s about one or two curves that were affected by the flood – and after five years we still don’t toboggan!

What do your coaching colleagues from abroad say? They just shake their heads, right?

Hackl: They’re laughing at us now. In Innsbruck the renovation went wrong, but they immediately got on the track and made sure that it was corrected, and I am firmly convinced that tobogganing will be there again next year. But when tobogganing will resume at Königssee is still entirely up in the air – because Germany can’t do anything anymore. Do we want this to continue? So, that was my political statement.

Hackl: “And now they won’t stop because they know exactly how great it is.”

And now for sports! At the weekend, as previously announced, you ended your career in Altenberg after 45 years – did you feel a bit melancholic?

Hackl: Hey, I planned and decided on it that way and I’m leaving there with great satisfaction and gratitude, also to all my sponsors and the Bundeswehr, which was my employer for decades. Since I was on sick leave because of my shoulder, I was able to follow the last World Cup in Altenberg at the finish line, where there is of course a lot more action and where the emotions are – not like the last few years at the start, where the same ten faces always get the sleds ready, the athletes are nervous before the start and you can only see on the TV whether someone is driving well or badly. Now I was where the music was playing and heard the whole show. It wasn’t a big farewell party, but the feeling was just very, very good.

It’s easy to slip into the future role of spectator, because it probably won’t be the last race you watch at the track, right?

Hackl: I would have offers from other nations again… But the plan now is for me to retire, but when tobogganing starts again at Königsee at some point, I will keep an eye on ensuring that the youngsters are provided with decent sledges.

What’s next for you?

Hackl: I’m retired now, I’m going to approach it freely without any big plans – and then the time will fill itself. I’ll let it come to me. I just want to finally take advantage of the Ski Amadé super ski pass in winter, from Schladming all the way across to Alpbachtal.

Does the Wok World Cup still exist? As a title holder many times over, you are also called the Wokl-Schorsch…

Hackl: Don’t even know if they still exist. If so, it’s very quiet, because when Stefan Raab did it, everyone noticed. It was also a nice time.

Speaking of good times: You used to form the Sonnenschein training group with Felix Loch as well as Tobias Arlt and Tobias Wendl. The colleagues are still active even in their advanced professional age – do you know how long?

Hackl: I haven’t heard of any of them quitting. I stopped when I was thirty-nine and a half, and when the boys were young they said: ‘We won’t do this for as long as Hackl!’ And now they won’t stop because they know exactly how great it is.