Aparjod has already been on the podium of the world championships four times, in 2020 in Sochi together with his sister Kendija Aparjod and duo Andris Šic/Juris Šic, winning silver medals in the team relay, as well as collecting three bronze medals – two in the team relay and one in the singles, last in the season at the German track in Altenberg, taking the third place in the sprint competition.
“I guess first place in the world championship comes to mind, because now I know what second place looks like,” Aparjod says about his goals for the season.
He reminds us of his character traits that “even with a track record and a first place, you won’t feel good if it wasn’t a good ride”, because you can almost always find something to improve.
“Until the end of the season, I will work with maximum effort both in training and in technical matters, but after the season I will probably start thinking about what didn’t happen, what should have happened, and what I did wrong,” says the luge driver, who was the first Latvian to celebrate a victory At the stage of the World Cup in the men’s competition.
He emphasizes that he is definitely not in his best athletic shape after physical training, but in the middle of the season, when the load is no longer so intense, speed appears and the start improves.
“I would say that the golden mean is to start the season satisfactorily or well, which for me would be a start in the top six or eight, because with such a start time you can go down with really good results, but then gradually run up,” says the athlete, adding that the main thing is to drive well.
“At the training camps in Norway and Sigulda, the trends on the track were good. That’s why I’m looking forward to the moment when all the best athletes will meet to compete,” says Aparjods, looking forward to the start of the competition season.
“Physical shape should be the best when the most important matches are the world and European championships. In the European championships on the German track in Winterberg, it may not be the best shape, if you can say so, but in the world championship it should be the best,” says the athlete about the highlights of the season .
“I have a good relationship with the Whistler track. A very fast and interesting track with its own rhythm. If you don’t catch it, the track can be unkind,” says Aparjod about the world championship track. “I like the Whistler track.
Regarding the Asian tracks, he says that the South Korean track will be raced after a seven-year break and that none of the world’s leading athletes will have an advantage. On the other hand, the track of the 2022 Olympic Games in China “is sufficiently tough and long” that you can both gain and lose time there.
New this season will be two mixed competitions, where the country will be represented by teams with one man and one woman, as well as teams with one men’s double and one women’s crew.
Aparjods calls the new competition a small relay, where instead of four stages, the athletes go on the track in two stages.
“It would be nice to compete with my sister as a family against the best lugers in the world,” says Aparjod, who has previously competed in team relays with Candy.
He believes that Latvians will have opportunities to get on the podium both in the team relay and in the mixed competitions. The athlete emphasizes that there are greater opportunities for mistakes in the team relay, where there are four stages, and the results are expected to be more predictable in the mixed competition.
The World Cup season will start with a stage at the Norwegian circuit in Lillehammer, which will take place from November 30 to December 1. Having completed nine stages in the season, the World Cup season will end on February 22 and 23 at the Yangqing track in China. On January 4 and 5, the fourth stage of the competition will take place on the Sigulda track.
The European Championship will be held on January 18 and 19 during the sixth stage of the World Cup at the Winterberg track in Germany, while the World Championship will be hosted by the Whistler track in Canada from February 6 to 8.
Source: www.diena.lv
