Winter sports: Olympic noise: Skeleton ace Flock threatens to expel associations

The Austrian Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (ÖBSV) has demanded a public apology based on Janine Flock’s statements. Otherwise, an exclusion is also conceivable, said ÖBSV sports director Christian Auer at a press conference on Wednesday. Among other things, there is the claim that Flock had to pay his physiotherapist himself at the Olympic Games.

“I am deeply disappointed,” explained Auer. Flock’s friend, skeleton driver Matthias Guggenberger, had also been sent to South Korea despite an “indisputable performance”, Auer said at the press conference in Innsbruck. “It was a human train,” he pushed. Auer called the latter’snotty’ in front of the camera and claimed that the’sports director was to blame because there was too little training’ an’excessive disappointment’.

Regarding Flock’s accusations, Auer said that two physiotherapists had been sent to the Olympic Games. However, Flock had her “personal advisor” with her. This was preceded by a dispute between Auer and her former physiotherapist over wearing “foreign material on the world’s bobsleigh runs”. “I decided to take her out of the squad,” Auer stated. Flock did not agree with this decision, Auer said about possible backgrounds of the “fillings” of the ÖBSV by Flock.

Auer also vehemently contradicted the Tyrolean woman’s statement that she had “received no support” from the association. “There was 45,000 euros in individual funding for Ms. Flock, of which 20,000 euros were at her free disposal,” he stated. According to Auer von Flock and Guggenberger, the sports director countered the statements that the subsidies would not be used for a specific purpose by the ÖBSV with the comment that he would not put up with this from these “amateur actors”. They would have distributed fake news.

Overall, Auer said that the two skeleton athletes had done “massive damage” to the ÖBSV. A large sponsor jumped off because of their allegations and a six-figure sum of funding failed to materialize. Auer noted that there would be consequences at the board meeting scheduled for tomorrow (Thursday).