Melanie Batkowski

Melanie Batkowski ( born February 11, 1989 in Innsbruck) is an Austrian Naturbahnrodlerin and since 2004 a member of the Austrian natural track luge team. Your greatest sporting successes have so far two world champion and European champion title in the team competition and two Junior World and European Champion title in the single-seater. In addition, she won two World Cup races five times and reached the third place in the World Cup. Her older brothers Robert and Florian are also natural track luge.

Career

Batkowski began in winter 1998/1999 with the natural track luge sport after their brothers extended period of time were already active. After initial victories in the Austrian Youth Championships and FIL Youth Games, it launched in January 2004 for the first time in the World Cup. From 2004 to 2008 Batkowski won five consecutive Austrian Junior Championship and also internationally counted in the juniors with two World and European championship titles and a silver medal in the single-seat, which she won from 2005 to 2009, the strongest 's women.

In the general class Batkowski fetched at the 2005 World Championships in Laces her first title when she won the gold medal in the team competition with her brother Robert and the doubles pair Reinhard Beer and Herbert Kögl. In single-seater she just missed a second medal in fourth. Also fourth in the single-seater, it was at the 2006 European Championship in Obergurgl. In the season 2005/2006 Batkowski scored their first three podium finishes in the World Cup, reaching the third place in the World Cup. Also three podium places you go in the winter 2006/2007, but in the World Cup they fell back to fourth place. At the 2007 World Championships in Grande Prairie, she won for the second time the gold medal with the team and also in the single-seater she succeeded this time with a third place in the jump on the podium. In the same year she was Austrian Champion in the single-seater for the first time. This track she has been able to defend four times in a row.

In the World Cup season 2007/2008 Batkowski reached with four podium again third overall, at the European Championships in Olang but she remained in fourth again just behind the medals. Also at the 2009 World Championships in moss in pass eggs she missed fifth place in the single-seater a podium finish, but won in the team competition the silver medal. At the end of the season 2008/2009 Batkowski won in Novouralsk in Yekaterinburg her first World Cup race after it was previously already drove in four of five races of the season in the top three. So she reached for the third time in her career third in the overall World Cup. Your second World Cup victory she celebrated 19 December 2009 also in Novouralsk. With further three podium finishes, she was also in the 2009/2010 season third in the overall World Cup. At the European Championships 2010 in St. Sebastian, she won along with Thomas Chamber Lander, Christian Schopf and Andreas Schopf the inaugural European Championship team at a competition, but in the single-seater missed it in fourth again barely a medal.

In the season 2010/2011 Batkowski scored three second and two third places and a fifth place, which they third in the overall World Cup was the fourth time in a row behind Ekaterina Lawrentjewa and Renate Gietl. At the height of the season, the World Cup 2011 in Obergurgl, she missed as fourth in single-seaters, as it often only just a medal. In the team competition, she was together with Gerald chamber Lander, Christian Schatz and Gerhard Muhlbacher second. At the beginning of the season 2011/2012 Batkowski could not attend the first two World Cup races due to illness. After that, they still reached the fourth place in the overall World Cup with three podium finishes in the last four races. At the European Championships 2012 in Novouralsk she won a second behind Ekaterina Lawrentjewa their first European Championship medal in the single-seater and also with Michael Scheikl, Christian Schopf and Andreas Schopf the bronze medal in the team competition.

Achievements

World Championships

  • Laces 2005: 4 seater, 1st team
  • Grande Prairie 2007: 3 -seater, 1st team
  • Moos in Passeier 2009: 5 seater, 2nd team
  • Umhausen 2011: 4 seater, 2nd team

European Championships

  • Huttau 2004: 14 seater
  • Umhausen 2006: 4 seater
  • Olang 2008: 4 seater
  • St. Sebastian 2010: 4 seater, 1st team
  • Novouralsk 2012: 2 -seater, 3 crew

Junior World Championships

  • Kindberg 2004: 8 seater
  • Garmisch -Partenkirchen 2006: first single-seater
  • Laces 2008: first single-seater

European Junior Championships

  • Kandalakscha 2005: first single-seater
  • St. Sebastian 2007: first single-seater
  • Longiaru 2009: 2 seater

World Cup

  • 5x 3 overall in the single-seater in the seasons 2005/2006, 2007/2008, 2008/2009, 2009/2010 and 2010/2011
  • 27 podium finishes, including two victories:

Austrian Championships

  • Five times Austrian Champion in the single-seater (2007 to 2011)

Awards

  • Gold Decoration for Services to the Republic of Austria 2005
FIL World Luge Natural Track Championships 2005 FIL World Luge Natural Track Championships 2007 FIL World Luge Natural Track Championships 2009 FIL World Luge Natural Track Championships 2011 FIL European Luge Natural Track Championships 2010 Robert Batkowski FIL European Luge Natural Track Championships 2006 FIL European Luge Natural Track Championships 2008 Sankt Sebastian, Styria Thomas Kammerlander Gerald Kammerlander FIL European Luge Natural Track Championships 2004 Sonja Steinacher Anton Blasbichler Armin Mair David Mair (natural track luger and skeleton racer) Gernot Schwab Patrick Pigneter Florian Clara
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