Martina Kocher (born 14 March 1985 in Biel/Bienne) is a Swiss former

luge A luge is a small one- or two-person sled on which one sleds supine (face up) and feet-first. A luger steers by using the calf muscles to flex the sled's runners or by exerting opposite shoulder pressure to the seat. Racing sleds weigh for s ...

r who competed between 1999 and 2018. She is Switzerland's most successful luger. She first slid on a luge at the age of nine at

St. Moritz St. Moritz (also german: Sankt Moritz, rm, , it, San Maurizio, french: Saint-Moritz) is a high Alpine resort town in the Engadine in Switzerland, at an elevation of about above sea level. It is Upper Engadine's major town and a municipality in ...

, after taking an interest in the sport when her father Heinz, a former bobsledder-turned-coach of bobsleigh and luge, took her along to a training course he was leading. Competing in four Winter Olympics, she earned her best finish of seventh in the women's singles event at

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

. She also took ninth places on her Olympic debut at the 2006 Games at Cesana Pariol and at the 2014 Olympics at Sanki, and was 11th at her final Games, the 2018 Games at the Alpensia Sliding Centre. From 2014 until her retirement, Kocher broke away from the Swiss Sledding Association's set-up, organising her own coaching and support team, being coached by her father and former luger

Stefan Höhener Stefan Höhener (born 13 June 1980 in Gais AR) is a Swiss luger who has competed since 1999. Competing in three Winter Olympics, he earned his best finish of 13th in the men's singles event at Salt Lake City in 2002. Höhener's best finish at ...

. For many years she trained alongside the German luge team. At the

2016 FIL World Luge Championships The 2016 FIL World Luge Championships took place under the auspices of the International Luge Federation at Königssee, Germany from 29 to 31 January 2016. Schedule Four events will be held. Medal summary Medal table Medalists References ...

at Königssee, Kocher took the gold medal in the

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and the silver in the full length singles event. At the following year's World Championships at

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol (state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the ...

, she finished second in the

. The latter result was considered a surprise as the short track at Innsbruck was not considered to suit Kocher, who was by far the lightest luger in top-level competition during her career. Her best finish at the FIL European Luge Championships was eighth in the women's singles event at

Sigulda Sigulda (; german: Segewold, pl, Zygwold, russian: Сигулда) is a town in the Vidzeme region of Latvia, from the capital city Riga. Overview Sigulda is on a picturesque stretch of the primeval Gauja river valley. Because of the reddish Dev ...

. Despite her World Championship success, she never achieved a

Luge World Cup The Luge World Cup season is a yearly competition first organized by the International Luge Federation The International Luge Federation ( French: Fédération Internationale de Luge de Course (FIL); German: Internationaler Rennrodelverband) is ...

podium: her best World Cup result was a fourth place in Königssee in January 2018. In August 2018 Kocher announced her retirement from competition, becoming a teacher for teenagers with behavioural problems.

References

2006 luge women's singles resultsFIL-Luge profile
*

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kocher, Martina 1985 births Living people Lugers at the 2006 Winter Olympics Lugers at the 2010 Winter Olympics Lugers at the 2014 Winter Olympics Lugers at the 2018 Winter Olympics Olympic lugers for Switzerland Swiss female lugers Sportspeople from Biel/Bienne