Ohio State senior David Dean brought back some nifty souvenirs from his recent trip to Europe: two world championship titles.
Dean placed first in both street luge and classic luge in the International Gravity Sports Association's Almabtrieb World Championships July 7-9 in Jungholz, Germany. He also won both titles at the Swedish World Cup, which took place from June 27-July 1 in Ale, Sweden.
Dean said classic luge and street luge vary in rules and regulations. Street luge has very few restrictions while classic luge is more restricted on characteristics of the board, such as wheel size, bearings, and length and weight of the board.
"Classic style street luge is meant to be a class where each rider has to have the same equipment," Dean said. "This way, the best racer wins, not the best equipment."
Dean was the first person to ever win a world championship title in both categories, said IGSA President Marcus Rietema.
"I know that I didn't just get lucky, because no one is lucky enough to win both categories," Dean said. "Not to mention, no racer has ever won two classes at two back-to-back world events either, so I know that I really raced well the past few weeks."
There were more than 100 entrants at each of the two events, Dean said. The World Championship had riders from 20 countries and six continents, making it one of the toughest and most diverse fields.
"At that level, it's not whether you have 10 guys or 100, because every athlete there has enough skill and speed to be able to win," Dean said.
After winning the Swedish World Cup, Dean said he was a little more confident going into the race and was excited to compete in the world championship.
"I really felt a win coming, but at this level, there is no way to predict a winner," he said. "It's impossible to know you can win the race until you're across the finish line."
Dean said he made a last-minute decision to travel to the two international events because of a lack of sponsorship funding. He said he did not want to pay for the high travel expenses out of his own pocket, but he wanted to take the chance to bring home a world championship.
"He hasn't been getting tremendous amounts of funding from his sponsors," said Mike Sorge, owner of Absolute Speed, the U.S. distributor of Ninja Bearings and one of Dean's current sponsors. "He has been funding a large portion of his efforts, which speaks highly for his confidence as an individual."
"It would be great to have local companies step up to support their own local athlete and world champion," Dean said. "Sponsors like to back someone who is the top in their sport, and right now I'm there."
Dean said his full-time student status made it difficult to practice and made him feel not completely prepared going into his second world championship. School and street luging, Dean's two main priorities, are hard to balance, he said.
"I was hoping to make it to the podium for one of the two events, but I never saw a double world championship coming," he said. "I practice whenever I can, but I do not get as much practice as most pro lugers."
A world championship is what every racer around the world races for, Dean said, and hard work and sacrifice are what got him to the world championship.
"Dean's a guy who's creating his own destiny with his passion for the sport," Sorge said. "He has a love for the sport and he's doing everything he can to make big things happen."
"I think Dave has really dedicated himself to the sport," said Rietema. "His dedication is really paying off."
With the largest student population in the country, OSU students take part in various sports activities across the country and throughout the world, Dean said.
"OSU is quickly becoming more than just a football school, and yes, more than a basketball and baseball school, too," he said. "I know the water ski team has top-ranked regional skiers, and club sports like kayaking and snowboarding also have top athletes in their sports."
Dean said he will be competing in street luge events in New York and Montreal this summer and hopes to bring in more wins.
"It's hard to sit back and look at what's next," Dean said. "I still have a lot of events left in the year, sponsors permitting, so it would be nice to really solidify some wins through the end of the year to be able to go into next year strong."
"He is a great representative for the sport and he's a good, positive role model," Rietema said. "I'm glad he's the world champion."
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