As an all-discipline racer and the oldest member of the Austrian women's alpine Ski Team, Elisabeth Goergl (who turns 29 in February) has been referred to as the leader of the women's team.
The Innsbruck resident however, doesn't necessarily feel that way.
"My personal opinion is that when you're doing a single sport it's not that easy to have a best friend who's doing the same because you're competing and the only thing that counts is yourself and you want to do the best," says Goergl, who has raced in more than 200 World Cups, has had 22 podiums and three victories. "When it comes to the Olympics or the world championships, there are four places and that's it. Everybody wants to do it and it's not that easy because there's a lot of girls who can do it."
That's not to say there isn't a friendly dynamic among the Austrian team. Although Goergl agrees that the team, because of its history as the strongest in the world and the attention that ski racing generates among sports fans in Austria, faces a lot of pressure.
"Of course there are groups where you have some special friends and then you just have colleagues where you respect each other and everything is fine," she says. "I think we have a respectful way to treat each other and we like to push each other. But me, I'm a person who's always doing her own thing a little bit. It's just important to me."
Goergl's relationship to her older brother Stephan, also a World Cup racer, is similar. Though the two grew up going to the same ski school in Schladming, they have not stayed as close as some siblings do on the race circuit.
"Over the years everybody is doing his own thing and grows up and is focused on his [or her] life," Goergl says. "He's doing his thing and I'm doing my thing. I have to be honest, I'm going my way and he's going his way. Probably like in every other grown-up family ... the birds fly out and live their lives. It was also important to step out of this relationship where you have this hero. You have to grow up by yourself. That's what i did. I feel happy about that. "
Starting out as a giant slalom and slalom specialist, Goergl began taking on the speed events about five years ago. She says juggling all the disciplines has been challenging, though rewarding.
"It takes a lot of energy and work and time to do everything ... and to do everything well," she says. "I decided to switch over to the speed side and since then I'm just doing all. That made me struggle in slalom a little bit. It's just hard work to keep working at everything, but it's fun. I love it. But you have to build it up. It takes time - especially in downhill - to be top. It's a lot of work and you need a lot of routine."
Born in the small town of Bruck an der Mur but living in Innsbruck the last eight years, when Goergl isn't skiing she likes shopping and drinking coffee with her friends, finding inner balance and ... the basic joys of survival.
"What do I do? I like to sleep. I like to eat and, of course, I try to relax," she says. "For example, I do some meditating or yoga. I try to stay moveable and flexible ... that's important to me."
As a ski racer with giant leg muscles, flexibility is different for Goergl than it is for other yoga practitioners.
"I would say [for a yoga level] I'm just in the middle. My body ... I have so many muscles I can't be that flexible like those crazy yogis," she says. "It's not even possible to twist my hips like they do because I have too much, um ... meat around. But I really like it. I do it the whole year to be in my balance ... my center. Whenever I feel stressed or not relaxed I go away and do my things and then I feel better."
- by Shauna Farnell
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