Skeleton racer Anna Fernstädtová: Overcoming adversity headfirst down the ice
With the Winter Olympics in Milan just around the corner, we’re taking a closer look at some of Czechia’s biggest medal hopefuls. Anna Fernstädtová, a Czech skeleton racer, has made a remarkable journey from bruised beginner to elite athlete, winning multiple medals despite the challenges of living with diabetes.
Anna Fernstädtová first lay down on a skeleton sled and launched herself headfirst down the ice when she was just 14 years old. This winter adrenaline sport captivated her so much that she decided to pursue it professionally. From 2013, she represented Germany, as her father is German. However, on her mother’s side, the now 29-year-old athlete is Czech. Since 2019, Fernstädtová has therefore been competing under the Czech flag. From both junior and senior World Championships, she has already collected three bronze medals, one silver, and three golds. Before taking up skeleton, she mainly did gymnastics, which still helps her today with body coordination in the ice track where skeleton racers speed along at up to 140 km/h.
“At the beginning it was banging from side to side, and you’re mostly just fighting to even reach the finish. At that moment you don’t think so much about technique, you’re more telling yourself, ‘I’ll survive this.’ And then you kind of get used to it. I know that for many people those speeds are unimaginable, but I focus more on how long it takes me to get through individual curves, under what pressure, and how the track works. Of course, there’s a difference between going 110 and 140 km/h. You really feel that. But I don’t think about the speed itself. I think about what I’m doing.”
Although skeleton may not be as well-known as skiing or skating, it has a 120-year tradition worldwide. In Czechoslovakia, however, it was considered a bourgeois pastime under the former regime. That changed only after the Velvet Revolution, when Czech athletes began to break into the world elite. Skeleton tracks are approximately 1,500 meters long, while the run itself lasts under one minute. It is extremely important for competitors to have top-class equipment, including a helmet and safety features. Injuries, however, cannot be completely avoided. Especially when Fernstädtová was starting out, she says she was covered in bruises.
“It’s not like we flip over a lot, but there’s a big difference between training and World Championships, when everyone already knows exactly what to do. The most common injuries are bruises on the legs and arms, and sometimes the ankles are affected too. The biggest injuries come from the start and from training—those are mainly muscle injuries. During the actual run, very few people suffer serious injuries. But I have to say that even injuries during training are important to me, because then I know how not to ride a track. For example, I’ll say to myself: now I entered that curve like this and hit myself. Thanks to that, I know I have to do something different next time.”
This year, Anna Fernstädtová finished the Skeleton World Cup season in seventh place in Altenberg. In the overall standings, the Czech representative placed fourth, which is her new career best in the elite series. Her great form is, of course, preceded by demanding training.
“Because this sport is a lot about speed, my training is closest to that of track athletes. I do sprints, and at the same time I try to work on my strength and endurance so I can handle that speed. Then there’s also training focused on coordination.”
That Anna Fernstädtová is among the favorites for an Olympic medal this year is all the more remarkable given that she has been competing with a handicap since 2022. In January, just one month before the Winter Olympic Games in China, she was diagnosed with diabetes.
“The first two years were mentally critical, and I often told myself I’d quit, that I couldn’t do it anymore. Now many people think I’ve gotten used to it, but no—you don’t get used to it, because even if I eat the same breakfast at the same time, the result is always different. At the beginning, after every race I was just glad I survived. I remember calling my coach, crying, and saying I couldn’t go on. I know I have a handicap in professional sport, but diabetes affects my everyday life too. I know it will be hard one way or another. Diabetes wouldn’t be any easier even if I stopped doing sport—actually, it would be harder. So I said to myself: I’ll keep doing it, and if it doesn’t work, I’ll quit. But now it works! (laughs)”
Despite her handicap, Anna Fernstädtová finished seventh at the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing in 2022. In the following two seasons, she struggled with the consequences of her illness and had to make major changes to both her training and lifestyle. Nevertheless, after four years she returned to the World Cup podium in January 2025, finishing second in Winterberg. At the 2025 World Championships in Lake Placid, she won a bronze medal. Despite her handicap, Anna Fernstädtová has proven herself to be a resilient, world-class athlete who now heads to the Winter Olympics in Cortina d’Ampezzo determined to turn her experience into another historic result.
