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Sports
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| Hubert Seigmann throws up a spray
of snow during a training run at Ski Apache Jan. 4,
prior to his departure for Austria for the 65th running
of the Hahnenkamm. (Photo by Mark
Doth) | When it comes to skiing,
Hubert Seigmann is no stranger to danger.
The
Austrian-born, Ruidoso-area resident has skied several
precarious spots — and been in several precarious positions —
in his life, many while serving as a coach for the Ruidoso
youth ski teams and acting as an instructor at Ski
Apache.
But starting Friday, Seigmann will take on a
race that even Olympic-class racers won’t touch.
Friday
marks the beginning of the 65th running of the Hahnenkamm in
Kitzbühel, Austria, a World Cup race that takes place over
three days. The race is named for the German word referring to
the comb of a rooster, as the ups and downs of the course
resemble the male fowl’s red crown.
“It’s a very
difficult course, even to hike it,” said Seigmann, who at 44
years of age will be one of the oldest competitors to ever try
the race. “The mind cannot comprehend going down that slope
the first time.”
The super-challenging event features
three different races — combining the disciplines of Super G,
downhill and slalom.
This is actually the second time
Seigmann has been down the course, having run the race last
year. It was a goal to run the race since he recovered from
his second testicular cancer treatment.
“In 1997, I
wrote that I would run this race, and be in the Olympics by
2006,” Seigmann said. “God has taken care of everything to
this point.”
Those were Seigmann’s exact sentiments
when he raced the Hahnenkamm last year. Faced with some
impossibly steep drops and severe turns on that first run — a
run he had to make blind because weather conditions forced a
cancellation of practice runs the day before — Seigmann
allowed a higher power to guide him through.
“When I
went down that first time, I never cried harder,” said
Seigmann, a man who has survived cancer twice.
Seigmann
came to Ruidoso via a very circuitous route. His hometown of
Anif, Austria, was the location for filming of the 1964
blockbuster musical “The Sound of Music” and a young girl from
Van Horn, Texas, had seen it, vowing to someday see the
location for herself.
More than 20 years later, Lisa
Mitchell found her way to Anif, where Seigmann spotted her and
later described the feeling of seeing her as “a lightning
bolt.”
“I told my friends that she was the girl I was
going to marry,” Seigmann said.
The two were married
just eight months later, and a son, Stefan, was born in 1987.
Due to Stefan’s asthma, the couple had to move to the high,
arid climate of Ruidoso, where Lisa’s mother had a
house.
Since then, Seigmann has continued his work as a
ski instructor and coach, and hopes his accomplishments — on
and off the slopes — are an inspiration to others.
He’s
also grateful to all those who have helped him through his
trying times.
“Noisy Water has donated shirts to give
out to the European crowd, Mark and Laura Doth and Grindstone
Graphics, Dave and Kathy Macintosh at Action Sports, and of
course the Ruidoso ski team,” Seigmann said. “They’ve been
some of my biggest supporters.”
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