(June 5, 2024) – For our third athlete profile of 2024 (and the 48th in the “Getting to Know…” series) we catch up with German skeleton athlete Jacqueline Pfeifer. Jacka has been sliding internationally for nearly a decade, and in that time has won three World Cup titles, as well as three World Championship gold medals (women’s skeleton, team competition, and skeleton mixed team). She’s won 30 World Cup women’s skeleton medals, 12 of which were golden.
Slider: Jacqueline Pfeifer
Team: German Skeleton
Hometown: Brachbach
Home track: Winterberg
Sponsors: Polygon Deutschland, MSP Druck und Medien
As we do with all of these, we’ll start with: Which is your favorite track and why?
I think I have three favorite tracks! One of the favorite tracks is Königssee. I love it there, and I love the track. I learned to slide there, in Altenberg and Winterberg, and I won my first World Championship there. I’m really sad that it’s broken right now, but am hopefully going to be sliding again there!
The second one is my home track, Winterberg! Not only because of the track and the corners, but because of Winterberg. It’s where I slid for the first time, and I love racing there in front of my home crowd. It’s really special every time I race there!
And the third one is Lake Placid. My first time I slid there I hated it! But then the more I slid there the better I got at the rhythm. It’s a crazy track, very different from most other tracks, but I really like it and the area around there.
Unrelated to the track, which town on tour do you enjoy visiting the most?
I really like it in Lake Placid! It has real American vibes there!
And like every other athlete I love it in sunny St. Moritz. It’s a really special place with the lake and the track. Also it’s always snowy and sunny there!
When you’re in St. Moritz do you have anywhere you like to go for meals?
Not really because it’s so expensive! But strolling around and seeing a life like that is ver interesting! It’s not my life, but when we’re there it’s interesting to see!
You began sliding relatively young compared to a lot of your competitors. Did you do any other sports before you moved to skeleton?
I tried a lot of things! I tried playing soccer, but I’m not talented at it! IT was fun but it wasn’t for me. I did some athletics, but I was 12 years old and kind of stopped there.
My sport teacher in school asked a few boys and girls if we wanted to try a crazy sport, and I tried it and it was a lot of fun. It was at the right time and place for me, and that’s how I ended up in skeleton!
When the season ends what do you like to do to relax in the time before training starts back up?
I spend with my family and friends, because there’s not so much in the winter season. I love skiing, so I always try to ski after the season when the conditions are okay, but most of the time there’s not enough snow by that time in Germany.
I try to enjoy the time and holidays. I have to be at the police station as well to work and do some things that we don’t have time for during the winter season.
Like some other athletes in the German programs, your career outside of sliding is as a police officer. Is that something you’d always wanted to do?
I was always interested in being a police officer. I had the chance to get into it really early, so I didn’t have the chance to really consider other things. I had the chance to do the police work while sliding, but even before sliding I was interested in becoming a police officer. And now for me it’s perfect, because I can do both that and sliding during the whole winter season.
What has been your very favorite meal you’ve ever eaten?
My all-time favorite meal is pasta! I love it in every combination…I think my fvery favorite one is pasta with truffles! It’s really nice and not something you can eat every day!
Do you like to go out for that or is it something you make at home?
I go out for it, it’s not something I can do at home! I think it’s very special and when I see it on the menu it’s something I really enjoy!
If you weren’t sliding what would you be doing with your life?
Because I started so early, I think that I still would be a police officer even if I hadn’t been doing skeleton. I would do a lot more skiing in the winter around Christmas and enjoy more of this downtime!
Do you ever think about what it would have been like to have this time?
I do what I do and it’s normal for me, but sometimes there are moments when you think “Okay, after my career I’m looking forward to enjoying free time and holidays and everything!”
In the United States, explaining that you write about skeleton leads to a lot of questions. As an athlete in Germany do most people understand what you do?
We have to explain it! It’s not popular in Germany…the people around me or our team know it, and obviously around the tracks in Germany. But it’s not popular enough in the country as a whole.
Soccer is really popular in the country for everyone, for winter sports ski jumping and biathlon are very popular.
What is your race day like from the time you wake up until you’re at the track?
It’s different depending on the time when we race. I always prefer to race in the morning, because I don’t like having so much time before the race because there’s so much time you can think about the race beforehand.
When the race is later, I’ll wake up and go for a walk and get some fresh air. I’ll have breakfast with the team, then either we go to the track or I call my family and have some coffee. When they’re around I’ll get coffee with them.
But I try to chill some, relax, and not be nervous.
You’ve been doing this for so long! Do you still get nervous?
Yes! Sometimes I wonder why I’m still nervous, I’ve been doing this for so long. I think it’s normal though, but I think I need it! Not too much, but just a little so I know that it’s race time now, training is over and I have to do work!
Do you listen to any music while warming up, and if so what is on your playlist?
Sometimes. I do have one song, Thunderstruck by AC/DC is always on my playlist and always the first song I listen to. I don’t know why…I heard it once a long time ago before a race and I had a really good race. And after that it was my song!
There seems to be two types of sliders: Those who like to be social before a race and those who have to focus hard. Which one are you?
I like to be social before a race. I love to talk to people and maybe see my family before the race. Then I’m a little more calmed down. When the race starts and I’m at the start I’m very focused, but before I need a little more normal time and not be so focused.
What’s been the hardest thing in the sport you’ve had to deal with?
I think it was the change in the weight rule. I struggled a lot with that, I had to change my sled setup and had to lose some body weight. It was really hard for me, and I struggled with that in the 2022 Olympic season. I think that was the worst season I’ve had which was disappointing because it was the Olympic season.
The year after I didn’t get the World Cup team for the first time since 2015 and I raced in the Intercontinental Cup. When I look back now, it was a good year for me to learn and accept what happened. I could work with my equipment and team and then this year was really great and I’m really happy about how it turned out. But I think 2022 and 2023 were just the hardest years I’ve had so far.
You did very well on the iCC tour, what did you learn from that season?
I learned that sometimes a change needs time. When the time is over then things will work out, but making changes need time. You have to give your body and mind time to get right, as well!
What’s been your very happiest moment on tour?
I’ve got three very special races: The first were the 2015 World Championships on my home track. I got race it because I was the junior world champion that season, and I raced there without any real goals and got a silver medal! And that was in front of my home crowd, and there were just so many people there. It was my first race with that size of crowd, and the lights and TV and everything too!
The second is my world championship in Königssee. A lot of my friends and family were there as well and it made it very special.
The third is my Olympic medal in Pyeongchang. An Olympic medal is very special, and you have it forever!
For a world championship in front of your family, do you feel like there’s more pressure or less pressure?
Now I think ti’s less pressure. But when I started in World Cup I felt like it was more pressure because I wanted to show them what I can do and want to race really well for them. But since then when they’re there it just gives me really good vibes, I know they’re there for me and not for a gold medal or something else.