LUGE: A little over four years ago a teenage boy was hanging out with friends, playing football and doing what teenage boys do in tropical north Queensland. For Alex Ferlazzo, surfing on his longboard, eating ice cream and maybe some fishing were his main priorities.

A chance meeting by his mother with a retired luge athlete during a pilates class would dramatically change his life course.

"My mother met Karen Flynn, a former luge athlete and the Recruitment and Development Manager for Luge Australia,” the 18-year-old said.

At the time, he had only touched snow once two years before and had no idea what the sport was.

“I didn’t know what luge was until I went to a recruitment camp in Sydney and from that point I fell in love with the sport,” he said.

At the camp, Ferlazzo was introduced to the basic technique of the sport and went through skills and fitness training under the tutelage of two-time luge Olympian, Hannah Campbell-Pegg.

Fast forward to 2013, and Ferlazzo has travelled and competed on tracks all over the world.

He represented Australia at the first ever Winter Youth Olympic Games in January 2012, finishing a creditable 19th and later that year made history by winning bronze in a Junior World Cup – Australia’s first ever medal at this level.

And now he has his sights set on competing at the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia.

Ferlazzo has just completed a six week European training camp including a week at the Sanki Sliding Centre, the venue for luge at the Winter Games.

“This track is different from others, with long entries and exits in most of the corners,” he said. “It isn't a hard track to finish but it's a hard track to be fast on. Staying on the perfect line is vital for sliding a respectable time for this track has no place for error.”

“I find the middle part of the track the most difficult. Sochi is one of them tracks where if you make a mistake in one corner it will effect you for 3 corners after.”

“All in all, the ice is ridiculously smooth (feels like you're floating) making it a comfortable and fast track to slide on.”

Ferlazzo is currently in Lillehammer, Norway preparing to compete on Friday (15 November) at the first World Cup of the season along with his teammates Daniel Newtown, Nick Mides and Ashley Cooney.

Australia hopes to qualify one quota place for men and one for women at the Sochi Games which start open on 7 February. Rankings determine the quota place and selection meaning the four World Cups before Christmas – Lillehammer (NOR), Igls (AUT), Calgary (CAN) and Park City (USA) – is what the dreams of these four young Australians rely on.

The top 28 women and 38 men on Olympic adjusted rankings (maximum three from each nation) after a minimum of five World Cups will qualify for the Games.
An unlikely sport for a teenager from Townsville in Australia’s tropics, Ferlazzo loves the speed and technical aspects of the sport.

“I love the adrenaline rush up to six times a day, the focus it requires and find the technical side behind the sport very interesting,” he said.

 “The track in Sigulda, Latvia is my favourite. I love the technical side of this track. It requires lots of hard steering and the transition between corners 5-6 and 10-11 are extremely quick, which feels amazing.”

When not chasing the European winter, Ferlazzo is training in his home town.

“In Townsville I spend quite a lot of time in the gym, improving my power and strength to help my start.”

The teenager also participates in street luge, described as an extreme gravity-powered sport that involves riding a street luge board down a paved road or course.

“Street luge is also a helpful training exercise,” he said. “I work on my position and turning technique sliding down Mt Stuart at about 80km/h.”

His speeds on ice are at least 40km/h faster.

“The fastest speed I have reached is 132km/h in Salt Lake City, Utah,” he said.

When asked what qualities he would look for when recruiting another potential luge athlete, Ferlazzo says “focused, powerful and heavy”.