“Tobogganing has been a passion of mine ever since I can remember”, says Florian Glatzl. Particularly in his hometown of Navis, there are beautiful tracks at the Naviser Hütte or the Peeralm. When he was seven years old, he switched to luge and natural ice tracks.

The location of Navis is perfect for tobogganists

Being one of the few communities in Tyrol where an icy toboggan run existed, Navis was certainly a place to call home for Florian Glatzl’s luge career. This saved him hours of driving in a car during his childhood and adolescence so that he could train to his heart’s content. Florian’s favourite track is the one where it all started, at the Naviser Hütte. He also enjoys tobogganing away from the races where he can switch off and enjoy the beautiful winter landscape. He can’t really choose another favourite track in the racing calendar. Glatzl enjoys riding on technically difficult tracks, for example in Umhausen in the Ötz Valley.

Beautiful successes that motivate

One of the most memorable experiences and also one of the greatest successes was Glatzl’s third place in Kühtai 2019, which was also his first podium place in the World Cup. He dedicated this success to his parents: his father, who continues to support him year after year; and of course his mother, who goes to church every weekend and prays for a racing season free of accidents.

Plenty of personal responsibility

The material (runners, tools, wax…) and sports equipment have to be financed by Glatzl himself. Unfortunately, he does not have a service technician. A service technician is especially difficult to find in natural track tobogganing, since they would have to be a former driver themselves in order to understand the various parameters in terms of material. This is the reason why every athlete should have their own service technician and this is not affordable in any way.

Goals for the future

Major goals in the future for Glatzl are to continue to score points in the overall World Cup and to land a place on the podium. He is unable to answer the question of how much longer he would like to continue racing. “There is always a balancing act between employer and sponsors. Once these two factors don’t coincide anymore, the motivation and the physical fitness are of no use”, he says, “on the one hand the search for sponsors is expensive and on the other hand you need all your holiday for competitions”. The passion for natural track tobogganing that drives the 26-year-old forward and encourages him to carry on is still there. We wish him all the best for the future.

TIP:
There are numerous beautiful natural toboggan tracks in the Wipptal region, some of them with lighting in the evening. It is also possible to hire toboggans at some of the tracks.
For further details: https://www.wipptal.at/en/experience-the-wipptal/winter/tobogganingsledging