By Oliver Trust
BERLIN, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- German tobogganist Julia Taubitz is riding the wave in this winter sports season.
But winning the overall World Cup last weekend is only meant to be an intermediate step for the 25-year-old on the way to her first Winter Olympics.
The athlete admitted to being full of joyful anticipation as her enthusiasm comes along with a sporting love affair.
"The track is like a dream," she said of the Beijing 2022 Games' newly installed course. "It's a perfect track for me; it's like made for me," she added after competing in Yanqing twice last year at the official opening and in a World Cup.
Ending up second in the World Cup competition increased Taubitz's excitement.
The track in China winds like a dragon in the landscape and is perfectly embedded in it, she stated in several interviews with German media.
Her statements about the track sound like a perfect navigation proposal, as "it's pretty fast and due to its smooth curves, it allows a fluent and harmonic racing performance. For athletes who have developed a feeling for the track, it seems a perfect match."
When it comes to what athletes and coaches call an empathic driving feeling, Taubitz is one of the world's best.
"She has the feeling for a track like most others don't. She has developed into a solid and stable competitor and has gained ground when it comes to athletic fitness," said Germany head coach Norbert Loch.
Taubitz used the maternity leave of Germany's number one, Nathalie Geisenberger, to reach a new level in her sport.
The country's rising star made her way from a rookie and underdog challenger to an athlete competing on eye-level with Geisenberger and the world's leaders.
Loch said he is extremely happy about the competition within the team, which has a well-oiled team spirit.
"We get along very well," Taubitz said regarding 2018 Olympic champion Geisenberger. "I learned so much from her. We support each other every second. This gives us all a comfortable feeling when facing international competitors; we are a team living the spirit of a group," she added.
The Beijing Games provides a new race and a new competition in her perspective. "It's the Olympic Games, there is no need to say more than just that. It's magic," the German said.
Loch said Taubitz has slipped into a new position within the team as she continued her upswing after Geisenberger returned after giving birth to her child. That, in his respect, is proving her quality.
"All races and all titles are a thing of the past when we compete in China. It's a restart for everyone," Taubitz said. ■
