HACKL, GEORG

born Sept. 9, 1966, Berchtesgaden, W.Ger. German luger who held the Olympic record for the fastest speed in a single luge run at 61.85 miles (99.5 km) per hour. As the only singles luger to win three consecutive Olympic gold medals (1992, 1994, and 1998), Hackl earned a reputation as the dominant luger of his time. Hackl was born and raised in the Bavarian town of Berchtesgaden, just four miles from the Knigssee luge course where he has trained his entire life. As an adult, he became an army sergeant but remained an active luger. His Olympic successes took root at the 1988 Winter Games in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, when, despite a glitch in his start, he claimed the silver medal in the singles luge competition. He returned to the Olympics in 1992 at Albertville, France, with polished starts, a refined technique, and, unlike most lugers, an older style of sled. He cruised into first place by winning three of the four runs and beating silver medalist Markus Prock (Austria) by three-tenths of a second in the final standings. Prock and Hackl battled it out once again at the 1994 Winter Games in Lillehammer, Norway. Hackl remained the victor, however, narrowly defeating Prock by 0.013 second. At the 1998 Games in Nagano, Japan, Hackl recorded the fastest time on all four runs of the competition and earned his third consecutive gold medal in luge singles. His other victories include the singles world championship as well as the World Cup in both 1989 and 1990.