Skeleton#ibsfsliding #skeleton #dukurs #fuoriclasse
With a long post published on his Instagram page, Martins Dukurs today announced his intention to end his unrepeatable career in the world of skeleton.
Friday 12 August 2022 10 minutes reading time
A decision that had been circulating for months among insiders but that until now the Baltic champion had never publicly manifested.
"The right time has come to tell you about a decision I have made for some time - thus began Dukurs on his Instagram page, subsequently explaining to his followers what were the reasons that led to the withdrawal - it was a decision very painful, exciting but above all logical ... After 22 years of hard work, great love for this sport and also periods of strong stress mainly due to the achievement of increasingly difficult goals that I have always set myself, the best time to say enough with the skeleton. In these twenty years I have experienced an infinity of emotions, there have been defeats but also many many victories that have allowed me to rejoice continuously, unique sensations that I will surely miss now that I decided to quit. "
The Baltic then wanted to pay homage to some of the people who accompanied him throughout his career, "Mine has been a very lasting career and if I managed to be competitive until the end it is thanks to all those people who have always believed in me and who have given me the strength to continue to pursue the dreams of victory. For this reason I want to give a hug to all the fans who have followed and cheered me over the years! In all these years of competition the presence of my family is was fundamental, and a very important role was played by a woman who knows me perfectly and who always makes me feel important ... Thanks Jana! "
In the last part of the farewell post to the skeleton, Dukurs told a nice story about the beginning of his career ... "I have always learned that we must never give up and I have tried to teach this to others too, sometimes though you must also have the courage to stop and know how to turn the page. As a young man, for example, I had set myself the goal of completing high school by 2000 so that I could be free to accompany my brother to the 2002 Olympics in speed skating, unfortunately however that dream did not come true as my brother was not selected, but life always gives surprises and four years later in Turin 2006 I was on the ice competing in my first Olympic Games! "
At the dawn of the Olympic four-year period leading to the Milan-Cortina 2026 Games, one of the most incredible careers in the history of sport ends. Martins Dukurs will not only be remembered for his unrepeatable sporting achievements and his multiple records, but will be associated forever alongside the word skeleton, as only sports legends have been able to do.
Dukurs has in fact been able to transform this sport from a simple sport that has just entered the Olympic program (Salt Lake City 2002 ed) into a real sport, becoming year after year what we can easily define as the prototype of the perfect skeletonist. With his obsessive preparation for competitions, his innate ability to choose the most appropriate materials, his perfect position on the sled (which earned him the nickname of Superman ed) Dukurs has been able to take the skeleton to another dimension , forcing rivals to emulate him and continually invest in research in an attempt to beat him.
Among his great intuitions should not be forgotten the dedication to improve the pushing phase which over the years has become increasingly decisive for the final result, and the decision to design, build and develop the sleds on his own, exploiting the experience of the father Dainis and older brother Tomass (also a world cup athlete ed) and keeping their know-how secret.
Endowed with great tactical intelligence and cold blood, Martins Dukurs also last winter, in what will go down in history as his last competitive season, set all forms of records in the skeleton World Cup circuit. With the victory last January 14 in Sankt Moritz, the Latvian led to 61 triumphs in first-level competitions, surpassing the previous record of gut sports belonging to the blue sledge runner Armin Zoeggeler by 4 victories, also conquering the 11th Sphere in the juncture. di Cristallo, one more than the tobogganists Zoeggeler and Prock.
There was no shortage of satisfactions also in the world championship events where Dukurs won 6 gold medals and one silver, and in the context of the European championships where he climbed the top step of the podium 12 times and on one occasion curiously he shared the success with his brother Tomass.
However, there remains the great regret of never having won the Olympic gold, a goal that the Latvian has always tried to pursue and which over the years has become a sort of curse. If in the last 3 editions of the Olympic Games it was more the home factor than the real skill of the opponents to prevent him from celebrating the title in five circles, in 2010 in Vancouver Dukurs threw a gold that seemed to have already been won. Leading with 18 cents ahead of Canadian Montgomery on the eve of the last descent, the Baltic in the final heat was taken by emotion and with a descent full of smudges he delivered the Olympic gold to the neck of an incredulous Montgomery.
At the same time as Martins' retirement, the news of the farewell of his brother Tomass also arrived today, an athlete who has lived an entire career in the shadow and in the "service" of Martins but who, as recalled by the eleven-time skeleton World Cup winner was instrumental in his many victories. Tomass Dukurs closes his experience in the skeleton with 2 World Cup victories, the last in his Sigulda last December, a European title and finished 3 times in second position in the overall World Cup standings.
August 12, 2022 will be remembered as the end of the Dukurs era, now who will take the baton?
#IBSFSLIDING #SKELETON #DUKURS #FUORICLASSE
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