Skeleton
Four months after her disc operation, Janine Flock is making her comeback in the World Cup on Friday in Winterberg. The Tyrolean comes to Germany with good training results, but does not have too high expectations because of the rain-soaked track.
Your main goal is the World Cup at the end of January. “Being there in St. Moritz and being able to compete for medals is my greatest motivation,” said Flock immediately after the operation in September. The two-time overall World Cup winner and winner of a total of 13 World Championships and European Championships medals has been training with her new coaching team Walter Hable and Franz Esterhammer since the end of May and is now contesting a race for the first time in this new constellation.
In October she was preparing for it with aqua jogging, running school and short interval sprints, among other things. In addition, there was lymphatic drainage and physiotherapy as well as neuro-athletic exercises using virtual reality glasses: “It’s primarily about the visual, which influences my movement sequences.” For Flock, towards the end of the year, it was the increased training intensity with the necessary rehabilitation work to balance well – always with the knowledge that it has to go to Winterberg.
Because the International Federation (IBSF) requires her to compete there, as well as in the next two weeks at a double World Cup in Altenberg, as a prerequisite for a World Cup start. In addition, according to internal team guidelines, Flock must have more World Cup points after this triple than teammate Julia Erlacher in order to receive the Austrian quota place.
“Nothing unexpected should happen”
“So I have to score. Nothing unexpected should happen, like a fall or a breakdown due to the weather,” Flock is aware of. To practice the pressure situation, the 33-year-old made a few trips to Sigulda in Latvia before Christmas. “It’s a track that challenges where I have to constantly step out of my comfort zone. That took me one step further mentally.” Finally, before the turn of the year, the Austrian team trained on the Moritz World Championship track.
Flock has acclimatized well in Winterberg. “I’m very satisfied with the training, I found my way into this glider track well,” explained the three-time European champion. But caution is still the order of the day: “I can feel my back. Then I have to take breaks, find the right balance between tension and relaxation.” Among the 20 rivals are the Dutch World Cup title holder Kimberley Bos and the Germans, led by Olympic champion Hannah Neise and world champion Tina Hermann.
