Andi Ruetz

Andi Ruetz
nation	Austria
birthday	April 8, 1975
place of birth	innsbruck
job	Lawyer
Career
discipline	Two-seater, single-seater
society	SV Sellrain
status	resigned
End of career	1999
Medal table
World championships 1 × 1 × 0 × European championships 3 × 0 × 0 × Junior European Championship 1 × 1 × 0 ×
Natural Track Luge World Championships silver Oberperfuss 1996 Two-seater gold Rautavarra 1998 Two-seater  European Natural Track Luge Championships gold Kandalaksha 1995 Two-seater gold Moos in Passeier 1997 Two-seater gold Szczyrk 1999 Two-seater  Natural track toboggan junior European Championship silver Rod 1992 Two-seater gold Längenfeld 1994 Single seater
Placements in the Natural Track Luge World Cup
Debut in the World Cup December 13, 1992  World Cup victories 15th  Overall World Cup DS 1. ( 1994/1995 , 1995/1996 , 1997/1998 , 1998/1999 )
Podium placements 1. 2. 3.  Two-seater 15th 10 7th

Andreas "Andi" Ruetz (born April 8, 1975 in Innsbruck ) is a former Austrian natural track luge . Together with his brother Helmut , he formed the most successful two-seater couple of the 1990s. They became world champions once , European champions three times and won the overall World Cup four times with a total of 15 race wins . In addition, they were three times Austrian national champions.

Career

Ruetz graduated from the upper level grammar school in Innsbruck in 1994 and then studied law at the University of Innsbruck . From 1990 to 1995 he took part in the Junior European Championships . His greatest successes were winning the silver medal in two-seater with Herbert Pilz at the 1992 European Junior Championships in Stange and winning the single-seater gold medal at the 1994 European Junior Championships in Längenfeld . At his first World Championship in Bad Goisern in 1992 , he and his brother Helmut achieved sixth place in the doubles.

In the World Cup , which was held for the first time in the winter of 1992/1993, he also started with his brother Helmut in the doubles. Right from the start, they were among the most successful pairs of two-seater and were able to win the first World Cup race on December 13, 1992 in Rautavaara , with which they achieved third place in the overall World Cup in the 1992/1993 season. In the winter of 1993/1994 they did not win, but again achieved third place in the overall standings, tied with the Italians Roland Niedermair and Hubert Burger . At the 1994 World Championships in Casies they were fifth in the doubles. Andi Ruetz also started in the single seater and finished twelfth.

In the 1994/1995 season they won the overall double-seater World Cup for the first time with two wins in Kreuth and Stein an der Enns and two second places. They were also very successful at the 1995 European Championships in Kandalaksha , where they won their first European Championship. Andi Ruetz took twelfth place in the single-seater. In 1995 they also became Austrian state champions in the doubles for the first time. They won this title two more times in 1997 and 1999.

In the winter of 1995/1996, the Ruetz brothers won five out of six World Cup races, which enabled them to repeat their overall World Cup victory with a clear margin. At the 1996 World Cup in Oberperfuss , however, they were relegated to second place by their compatriots Reinhard Beer and Herbert Kögl . Andi Ruetz retired in the single-seater. In the 1996/1997 season , Andreas and Helmut Ruetz won a World Cup race in Obdach , finishing second three times and third twice. In the overall World Cup, they finished second behind the Beer / Kögl doubles, which celebrated three victories this season. They successfully defended their title at the 1997 European Championship in Moos in Passeier . Andi Ruetz finished eleventh in the single-seater.

In the winter of 1997/1998 the duo Ruetz / Ruetz was able to claim the overall World Cup victory with two victories in Sölden and Oberperfuss and another three podium places. They celebrated the greatest success of their careers at the 1998 World Cup in Rautavaara, when they won the doubles championship ahead of the Italians Manfred Gräber and Hubert Burger and the Austrians Reinhard Beer and Herbert Kögl.

In the 1998/1999 season , the brothers were able to win the overall World Cup for the fourth time with four wins in Sölden, Bad Goisern, Canale d'Agordo and Aurach . No other two-seater pair has been able to achieve this number of overall victories to date. In addition, they were European champions for the third time in a row at the European Championships in Szczyrk in 1999 , something that no doubles had ever achieved before. It was only from 2004 to 2008 that the Russians Pavel Porschnew and Ivan Lazarev won the European Championship three times in a row.

After these successes, Andi Ruetz ended his sporting career in order to devote himself to his professional activity.

Sporting successes

(if not stated otherwise, two-seater together with Helmut Ruetz)

World championships

• Bad Goisern 1992 : 6th two-seater
• Casies 1994 : 5th two-seater, 12th single-seater
• Oberperfuss 1996 : 2nd two-seater
• Rautavaara 1998 : 1st two-seater

European championships

• Kandalaksha 1995 : 1st double, 12th single
• Moos in Passeier 1997 : 1st two-seater, 11th single-seater
• Szczyrk 1999 : 1st two-seater

Junior European Championships

• Železniki 1990 : 4th two-seater
• Kandalakscha 1991 : 4th double, 10th single
• Stange 1992 : 2nd two-seater (with Herbert Pilz), 8th single-seater
• Rautavaara 1993 : 6th single seater
• Längenfeld 1994 : 1st single-seater
• Saint-Marcel / Fénis 1995 : 4th single seater

World cup

• 4 × overall World Cup victory in doubles in the seasons 1994/1995 , 1995/1996 , 1997/1998 and 1998/1999
• 1 × 2nd overall place in the two-seater in the 1996/1997 season
• 2 × 3rd place overall in the two-seater in the 1992/1993 and 1993/1994 seasons
• 32 podium places in World Cup races, including 15 victories:

date	place	country	discipline
December 13, 1992	Rautavaara	Finland	Two-seater
5th February 1995	Kreuth	Germany	Two-seater
February 12, 1995	Stein on the Enns	Austria	Two-seater
December 27, 1995	Rautavaara	Finland	Two-seater
December 30, 1995	Rautavaara	Finland	Two-seater
January 19, 1996	Landskron	Austria	Two-seater
January 21, 1996	Landskron	Austria	Two-seater
4th February 1996	Laces	Italy	Two-seater
February 9, 1997	shelter	Austria	Two-seater
November 23, 1997	Soelden	Austria	Two-seater
January 25, 1998	Oberperfuss	Austria	Two-seater
December 6, 1998	Soelden	Austria	Two-seater
January 17, 1999	Bad Goisern	Austria	Two-seater
January 24, 1999	Canale d'Agordo	Italy	Two-seater
February 5, 1999	Aurach	Austria	Two-seater

Austrian championships

• Austrian national champion in doubles 1995, 1997 and 1999

literature

• Harald Steyrer, Herbert Wurzer, Egon Theiner: 50 years FIL 1957 - 2007. The history of the International Luge Federation in three volumes . tape II . Egoth Verlag, Vienna 2007, ISBN 978-3-902480-46-0 , p. 285-397 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Club Carriere - Encyclopedia of Success. December 2007 issue, volume 18.Algoprint Verlags AG, Vaduz, ISBN 978-3-9522689-9-5 , page 998 ( online at Google Books )
2. ↑ Tiroler Toboggan Association: Austrian state champions in natural track tobogganing from the state of Tyrol ( Memento from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on February 12, 2010 (PDF, 14kB)