Wolfgang Schopf

Wolfgang Schopf ( born June 23, 1983 in Jews castle ) is a former Austrian natural track luge. Together with his cousin Andreas Schopf he made in the first half of the 2000s, one of the most successful doubles pairs. They were twice World Champion, European Champion and twice European Junior Champion. In addition, they won three World Cup races, once the World Cup and, in 2000 Austrian national champion. Chance launched Wolfgang Schopf also in single-seaters.

Career

The first international success was Wolfgang and Andreas Schopf by winning the bronze medal at the Junior World Championship 1999 in Huttau. In the winter of 1999/2000 they won the overall title of the Intercontinental Cup, were Austrian national champion in doubles and won the gold medal at the European Junior Championship 2000 in Obergurgl. Here Wolfgang Schopf also took part in the recliner, where he finished eighth.

From the 2000/2001 season, the cropping Cousins ​​started in the World Cup. Already in the first race on the 4th of January in Obergurgl they reached the second place, followed by in Unterammergau and Lüsen but only two sixth places. A stir the then 17 or 16 year old cousins ​​attended in their first title fight in the General category of the 2001 World Championships in Stein an der Enns. With the fastest time in the second scoring run they left the defending champion Armin and David Mair from Italy by nine hundredths of a second behind and were for the first time world champion in doubles. A week later they were able to defend their European Junior Champion title successfully and then they won the two remaining World Cup races in Moscow and Huttau, making it the year's winner Armin and David Mair by 15 points in second place referenced in the final standings and the same in their first season won the overall World Cup.

The next two years were for Wolfgang and Andreas Schopf in the World Cup is not quite as successful. With two podium finishes, but no victory, they finished in the seasons 2001/2002 and 2002/2003 fifth overall. The medal decisions they were but still can not be beat: In the 2002 European Championships in Frantschach they were eleven hundredths of a second ahead of Reinhard Beer and Herbert Kögl European champion and the 2003 World Cup in Železniki they won 1.81 seconds ahead of the Russians Pawel Porschnew and Ivan Lazarev their second world title. In addition, they won at the Junior European Championship 2003 silver medal in the doubles and Wolfgang Schopf also won the bronze medal in the single-seater.

In the World Cup season 2003/2004, Wolfgang and Andreas Schopf reached with a third and three second places and one victory in Moscow on January 25, the same number of points as the Russians Porschnew and Lazarev. However, because this could show a better result string, the overall World Cup victory went to the Russians and the cropping Cousins ​​finished second. At the 2004 European Championships in Huttau they also had to the Russians Porschnew / Lazarev and their countrymen Denis Alimov and Roman Molwistow admit defeat and won the bronze medal.

The 2004/2005 season was the last common for Wolfgang and Andreas Schopf. The first three races of the season they were able to finish on the podium, after which they no longer went into the top three in the World Cup and they eventually finished fourth. At their last World Cup in Laces they stayed for the first time without a medal, because in the doubles they came only to tenth place in the team competition and finished sixth. In 2005, Wolfgang Schopf ended his career. Andreas Schopf started then with his brother Christian Schopf.

Sporting successes

World Championships

  • Stein an der Enns 2001: 1st doubles
  • Železniki 2003: 1 double seater
  • Laces 2005: 10 doubles, 6 team

European Championships

  • Frantschach 2002: 1 double seater
  • Huttau 2004: 3 doubles

Junior World Championships

  • Huttau 1999: 3 doubles

European Junior Championships

  • Umhausen 2000: 1 double seater, 8 seater
  • Tiers 2001: 1 double seater, 10 seater
  • Kreuth 2003: 2 double seater, 3 seater

World Cup

  • Overall victory in the doubles in the 2000/2001 season
  • 2nd place overall in doubles in the season 2003/2004
  • 15 podiums including 3 victories:

Austrian Championships

  • Austrian Champion in doubles in 2000

Awards (excerpt)

  • 2001: Gold Decoration for Services to the Republic of Austria
FIL World Luge Natural Track Championships 2001 FIL European Luge Natural Track Championships 2002 FIL European Luge Natural Track Championships 2004 Judenburg FIL World Luge Natural Track Championships Armin Mair David Mair (natural track luger and skeleton racer) Frantschach-Sankt Gertraud FIL World Luge Natural Track Championships 2005 Damiano Lugon Corrado Hérin Andi Ruetz Helmut Ruetz Patrick Pigneter Florian Clara Andrzej Laszczak Damian Waniczek Christian Schatz
828140
de