Translate to English “You only learn when you fall on your face at some point”

Cortina d’Ampezzo. Trauma overcome, dream fulfilled: Julia Taubitz is the name of the new Olympic luge champion. The 29-year-old world-class athlete from the Ore Mountains is everything in the decision on the ice track in Cortina d’Ampezzo – just not the favorite. Four years ago at the Winter Games in Beijing it was exactly the opposite. And then as well as this time: the winter sports podcast “Dreierbob” from Sächsische.de and Editorial Network Germany (RND).

At that time Taubitz fell, this time she drove away from everyone and won with a record lead. On the podcast microphone, the world-class tobogganer tells how she dealt with the trauma and how her childhood dream was able to come true.

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The podcast is also available Spotify and ApplePodcasts.

For the conversation she meets with three-man bobsleigh co-host and SZ sports director Tino Meyer in the German House. At this point, the triumph was just over twelve hours ago. She says: “It’s still a bit unreal, I have to be honest.” The medal hangs around her neck, it weighs 506 grams, but the feeling of being an Olympic champion has yet to really sink in. “I’ve realized it a little bit, but it hasn’t quite sunk in yet.”

In the conversation, Taubitz once again describes her experiences from the decisive fourth run. “When I drove into Tofana, which is the third-to-last corner, I thought to myself that nothing could go wrong now, (and) when I saw the final time at the finish, I was done for.”

At that moment, as she describes it, not only did her dream come true, but a kind of compensation happened. She tells how she recovered from this bitter experience after a fall at the 2022 Games. “I was looking for a mental coach with whom I have worked intensively for the last three and a half years.” She learned how to draw strength from defeat. “You only learn when you fall on your face at some point,” she says now.

National coach Patric Leitner also finds emotional, classifying and very appreciative words. He also reminds us of the scenery at the 2022 Olympics. And: Leitner encourages Merle Fräbel. On Tuesday, the 22-year-old experienced what Taubitz went through four years ago. Lying in a promising position and with a chance of winning, she made a mistake. The Olympic dream shattered in the third run. Leitner says: “Adjust your crown, keep your head up, your time will come.”

You can listen to the podcast here

All episodes released so far are available on the Podcast topic page at Sächsische.de and on these podcast platforms.