Gerhard Mühlbacher

Gerhard Muhlbacher ( born March 13, 1975 in Hallein ) is an Austrian natural track luge, which is particularly successful in doubles. First he started with Harald Kleinhofer, with whom he scored a total of eleven podium finishes in World Cup races and the third at the 2003 World Cup. In addition, they were twice Austrian national champion. Since 2005 he is with Christian Schatz a doubles pair. They gained so far with a total of five World Cup victories twice the overall World Cup were 2007 World Champion in the team competition and won seven medals at World and European Championships.

  • 2.1 World Championships
  • 2.2 European Championships
  • 2.3 European Junior Championships
  • 2.4 World Cup
  • 2.5 Austrian Championships

Career

Gerhard Muhlbacher starts for luge club in his home town Golling. Earlier in his career he was active in both the single-seater and double -seater. From 1993 to 1995 he took part in three European Junior Championships, where he began in 1993 only in the doubles and with Roland Kallan finished fifth and 1994 and in 1995 took part only in the recliner, where he finished tenth or fourteenth. In winter 1997/98 Muhlbacher won the European Cup Ratings in the input and in the doubles and he took in the Finnish Rautavaara first part in a World Cup, where he finished 16th in the single-seater, and reached the fourth place in the doubles together with Harald Kleinhofer.

Double seater with Harald Kleinhofer (until 2004 /2005)

Henceforth Muhlbacher focused exclusively on the two-seater. With his partner Harald Kleinhofer he made until 2005 a successful doubles pair reached again top rankings in the World Cup and at international championships, but never stood on the podium at the top. Your first podium in the World Cup get them in January 2000, when she parties and a week later were in Garmisch -Partenkirchen in Second Gummer. Another week later, they achieved fifth place at the World Championship 2000 in Olang. In the previous year the double Kleinhofer / Muhlbacher was disqualified at the European Championships 1999 in Szczyrk in the first run. In the overall World Cup they reached in the 1999/2000 season only seventh place, because they took part after the World Cup only one of the three remaining World Cup races, but do not finish the race. After a long break - even at the World Cup 2001, she did not participate - they denied only in February 2001 in Moscow their next World Cup race, where she again reached the same second. At the season finale in Huttau they were fourth and thus in the overall World Cup of the season 2000/2001 Ninth. In addition, they were introduced in 2001 for the first time Austrian national champion in doubles.

In the World Cup season 2001/2002 Kleinhofer / Muhlbacher reached first two third places in Olang and then two second places in the parallel competition of Triesenberg and in Obergurgl, which they at times were in second place in the overall standings. But with the ranks seven and four in the last two competitions they still fell back to fourth in the overall World Cup. Also the fourth overall they achieved the following season 2002/2003. This winter, two third places in Obergurgl and Kindberg were their best World Cup results. After Kleinhofer / Muhlbacher again remained at the 2002 European Championships in Frantschach - Sankt Gertraud in fourth almost without precious metal, they won at the 2003 World Cup in Železniki behind their teammate Wolfgang and Andreas Schopf and the Russians Pawel Porschnew and Ivan Lazarev, who in this year overall World Cup won the bronze medal. After the first of the two races they were located in fourth again just behind the medals, but the second-best run time in the second round, they could still be improved to third place and thus won their only common medal at the World and European Championships. At the national level, they were successful because they were in the same year for the second time Austrian doubles state champion.

The 2003/2004 season began Kleinhofer / Muhlbacher with a second place in Olang and third in Grande Prairie. But after they scored only two seventh and eighth place, which they finished fifth in the World Cup. At the 2004 European Championships in Huttau, their last common major event, they were ninth. In the season 2004/2005 they only took on the two World Cup races in Oberperfuss, where she was sixth in the first race, but the second failed. Harald Kleinhofer ended after his career and Gerhard Muhlbacher starts since then with Christian treasure.

Doubles with Christian Schatz (from 2004 /2005)

The first joint World Cup races contested Gerhard Muhlbacher and Christian treasure at the end of the season 2004/2005 in Olang, where she achieved fifth place. Previously, they were jointly launched already in the Intercontinental Cup. As early as next winter they managed the big breakthrough when she with two wins in Kindberg and Oberperfuss and two second, a third and a fourth place with 15 points ahead of the Russians Pawel Porschnew and Ivan Lazarev - which also won two races - won the overall World Cup. In the 2006 European Championship in Obergurgl but Porschnew / Lazarev were faster and treasure / Muhlbacher won 1.46 seconds behind the silver medal. In the season 2006/2007 Gerhard Muhlbacher and Christian Schatz won even three World Cup races - one in Obergurgl and two in moss in pass eggs. In addition, they were washed twice and third once Ninth, so they decided this time again before Pawel Porschnew and Ivan Lazarev, by a margin of 30 points, the overall World Cup for themselves. Were treasure / Muhlbacher At the 2007 World Championships in Grande Prairie, together with Melanie Batkowski and Gernot Schwab World Champion in the team competition and won behind the two Russian doubles pairs Porschnew / Lazarev and Yegorov / Popov the bronze medal in the doubles.

The 2007/2008 season began Schatz / Muhlbacher with three third places. But in the second half of the season they went in no more World Cup races on the podium and dropped back to fourth in the overall standings. Fourth, they were also at the 2008 European Championships in Olang. In the next two years, she made ​​only a podium finish in the World Cup. In the 2008/2009 season, this was the third place in Unterammergau and in the season 2009/2010, third place in the World Cup finals in Garmisch -Partenkirchen, so they came to the sixth and fifth place in the overall World Cup. At the 2009 World Championships in moss in pass eggs she was seventh in doubles with Thomas Kammerlander and Tina Unterberger fifth in the team competition. Were at the European Championships 2010 in St. Sebastian Schatz / Muhlbacher only eighth in doubles, but they won with Marlies Wagner and Gerald chamber Lander as Team Austria II the bronze medal in the team competition.

The 2010/2011 season began Schatz / Muhlbacher with a third place in Novouralsk, the other three top 5 results followed, before they as Second stood on the podium again in the last two races in Unterammergau and Olang, making it the third overall reached. At the World Cup in 2011 failed in Obergurgl treasure / Muhlbacher in fourth barely a medal in doubles. They were only four hundredths of a second slower than the third placed Andrzej Laszczak and Damian Waniczek. In the team competition, the duo won the silver medal together with the single seaters Melanie Batkowski and Gerald Kammerlander. In the season 2011/2012 reached treasure / Muhlbacher with four third places and a fourth and a seventh place again third overall in doubles World Cup. Third, they were also at the European Championships 2012 in Novouralsk, where she also won the silver medal in the team competition with Tina Unterberger and Thomas Schopf.

Achievements

World Championships

  • Rautavaara 1998: 16 single-seat, 4 doubles ( with Harald Kleinhofer )
  • Olang 2000: 5 doubles ( with Harald Kleinhofer )
  • Železniki 2003: 3 doubles ( with Harald Kleinhofer )
  • Grande Prairie 2007: 3rd doubles ( with Christian Schatz ), 1st team
  • Moos in Passeier 2009: 7 doubles ( with Christian Schatz ), 5 team
  • Umhausen 2011: 4 doubles, 2nd team

European Championships

  • Frantschach 2002: 4 doubles ( with Harald Kleinhofer )
  • Huttau 2004: 9 doubles ( with Harald Kleinhofer )
  • Umhausen 2006: 2 doubles ( with Christian Schatz )
  • Olang 2008: 4 doubles ( with Christian Schatz )
  • St. Sebastian, 2010: 8 doubles ( with Christian Schatz ), 3rd team
  • Novouralsk 2012: 3 doubles ( with Christian Schatz ), 2nd team

European Junior Championships

  • Rautavaara 1993: 5 doubles ( with Roland Kallan )
  • Length field 1994: 10 seater
  • Saint-Marcel/Fénis 1995: 14 seater

World Cup

  • 2x Overall World Cup victory in the doubles in the seasons 2005/2006 and 2006/2007
  • 2x 3rd place in doubles overall World Cup in the seasons 2010/2011 and natural track luge World Cup 2011/2012
  • 33 podiums, 5 wins:

Austrian Championships

  • Austrian Champion in doubles in 2001 and 2003
FIL World Luge Natural Track Championships 2007 FIL World Luge Natural Track Championships 2011 FIL European Luge Natural Track Championships 2006 FIL European Luge Natural Track Championships 2010 FIL World Luge Natural Track Championships Golling an der Salzach FIL World Luge Natural Track Championships 1998 FIL World Luge Natural Track Championships 2000 FIL European Luge Natural Track Championships 1999 FIL World Luge Natural Track Championships 2001 FIL European Luge Natural Track Championships 2002 Frantschach-Sankt Gertraud Wolfgang Schopf FIL European Luge Natural Track Championships 2004 Aleksandr Yegorov (luger) FIL European Luge Natural Track Championships 2008 FIL World Luge Natural Track Championships 2009 Sankt Sebastian, Styria Italy Sonja Steinacher Anton Blasbichler Armin Mair David Mair (natural track luger and skeleton racer) Robert Batkowski Reinhard Beer Renate Gietl Patrick Pigneter Florian Clara Corrado Hérin Helmut Ruetz Andi Ruetz
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