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Boise State professor goes to 2006 Torino Winter Olympics in the luge
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In the risky sport of luging where the average competitor is in his or her 20s or 30s, Boise State Kinesiology professor Werner Hoeger sets himself apart from his follow athletes as a 52-year-old Winter Olympian luger who describes himself as having a “higher level of fitness than most of the competitors.”
This month, Hoeger will travel to Torino, Italy for the 2006 Winter Olympic Games to compete in the luge, his second Olympic circuit in the past eight years. Hoeger also competed in the 2002 Salt Lake City Games.
In Torino, Hoeger will steer his sled through four runs down a course that drops 274 feet and curves 19 times to determine his final score. Hoeger said he has been dedicated to the sport for nearly eight years and despite his age, has been rigorously practicing for Torino every chance he gets.
Due to his work schedule, however, Hoeger said he is limited on what time he is able to devote to luge practice. His lifelong dream to one day travel to the Olympics and represent his native country of Venezuela has kept him striving for nothing short of that.
Balancing the time between all of his activities such as training for the Winter Olympics, doing research for his textbooks, working out and keeping in shape for the games, teaching classes at BSU, and spending time with his family, Hoeger admits that it’s not easy.
“I have a very hectic life, especially during this Olympic season,” Hoeger said.
Hoeger said he set very high standards for himself at a young age and began pursuing them in Venezuelan gymnastics competitions.
“I am a firm believer that you have to have goals in life. Goals keep you motivated, goals keep you going,” Hoeger said.
At age 16, Hoeger had already made Venezuelan history by becoming the country’s most decorated gymnast, as the national all-around champion from 1970 to 1975, a span during which he won 34 of the 36 individual event titles.
Although Hoeger qualified for the 1972 Munich and 1976 Montreal games for gymnastics, he was unable go as an individual and unfortunately, the Venezuelan team failed to qualify as a team. Hoeger said he was disappointed since he’s always wanted to be part of the Olympic Games.
“Every time the Olympics came around, I just had this empty feeling because I missed out as a youngster,” Hoeger said.
Despite the fact that he didn’t make it to the Olympics in the 1970s, Hoeger didn’t go unnoticed. LaVon Johnson, head gymnastics coach for Brigham Young University, saw him compete and immediately took interest, Hoeger said.
Hoeger’s early accomplishments earned him a scholarship to BYU where he met his wife, Sharon Barthule, also a gymnast. They settled down, had five children and moved back to Venezuela for a short time. However, when Boise State offered him a job in 1986, he took it and relocated to Boise.
For the next few years, Hoeger focused on his job as a Kinesiology professor and writing college textbooks, of which 36 editions have been published. He has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in exercise physiology, athletic conditioning and fitness-related topics. Hoeger has also received grants to conduct research in the areas of body composition changes, strength training, muscular flexibility and the assessment of physical fitness.
While watching the 1998 Olympics at his home in Boise, Hoeger saw Iginia Baccalandro, the first Venezuelan participate in the Winter Olympics in the luge, carrying the Venezuelan flag. After much research, he contacted her and began pursuing his Olympic dream again from that day on.
Hoeger said Baccalandro suggested that he would be an ideal luger based on his high fitness level and success he had as a gymnast.
“I was still doing double back flip summersaults and floor exercises when I was 40,” Hoeger said. Baccalandro eventually convinced him to get on a sled.
Beginning the luge was a challenge for Hoeger. He suffered most of his injuries during the first year of practice.
“The next thing you know, I was banging into the side of the track,” Hoeger said. He described the feeling of sliding down the track, steering with your hands, shoulders and feet similar to driving a pickup truck backwards in downtown Boise at 90 miles per hour. “The sport is very technical, the slightest body movement could cause you to crash,” Hoeger said.
Once he figured out how to drive a sled, he enjoyed the luge, but never did he think he could qualify for the Olympics.
However, Hoeger continued practicing and it became a possibility.
Nearly one year ahead of schedule, Hoeger, at the time 40-years-old, and his son Christopher, 17-years-old, both qualified for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Hoeger placed 40th and Chris finished 31st, as the oldest and youngest men in the competition.
Regardless of the time restrictions that Hoeger faces and how much it limits the various tracks he’s able to practice on, he said, “It’s an honor to have made the top 40, a tremendous reward.”
Hoeger has been traveling around the world practicing luge runs on various tracks in Canada, New York, Germany and Italy. He’s also been training both mentally and physically in preparation for the Winter Games.
“It’s a combination of rigorous physical training and mental imagery, seeing myself on the sled going down the track in Torino,” Hoeger said.
With the Torino Winter Olympic Games only eleven days away, Hoeger is anxiously awaiting the day that he gets to compete. Until then, Hoeger said he will be lying on his sled mentally going over the Torino track 10, sometimes 12 times per day, conditioning physically and trying to avoid any distractions that may affect his luge training.
When asked if he is planning to continue with the Olympic luge competition, Hoeger said, “This may be my last six runs, I may do it on a limited basis – but for right now I’m going to focus on what’s at hand – Torino.”
Hoeger will be competing in the luge February 11 and 12at the Cesana Pariol facility in Torino, Italy.
Jessica Wigley / News Writer
