UTAH OLYMPIC PARK ? On the verge on becoming the greatest Winter Olympian in history, Georg Hackl is saying all the right things.

Hackl, 35, says there are younger, stronger and faster athletes in the 2002 Winter Olympic luge field ? 50 competitors strong ? and people shouldn't be labeling him the favorite.

But people know better, and no luge observer is picking against the German superstar, who has twice been voted the most popular athlete in his country, ahead of Michael Schumacher both times.

"The only way to stop him is to steal his helmet," said Chris Hoeger, a 17-year-old who will compete for the Venezuelan luge team in the competition Sunday and Monday at Utah Olympic Park.

Looking at the German star you could easily be deceived into thinking Hackl is the underdog.

At 5-foot-8 inches and 180 pounds, he looks slightly pudgy in his Lycra luge suit. Before he grew his new goatee he resembled Peter Sellers playing the bumbling detective Inspector Clouseau in the Pink Panther series.

The looks, however, are deceiving.

The German is bordering on Olympic history.

If he wins gold, like everyone expects, he will become the first Winter Olympian to win four consecutive individual golds in the same event. If the German wins a medal of any color he becomes the first winter athlete to medal in five consecutive Games.

Hackl's list of hardware is as long as his legend: silver at Calgary in 1998, gold at Albertville in 1992, gold at Lillehammer in 1994 and gold at Nagano in 1998.

While the results in 2002 might be the same, the competition will be different.

Hackl's father, also named Georg, died last December following a heart attack. It hurt Hackl since his father's attack came minutes after the German superstar won an exhibition event at his home track in Koenigssee, Germany.

As the elder Hackl made the trek up the hill to congratulate his son, his heart stopped.

Rescue workers on scene performed CPR and revived the 62-year-old, but he died en route to the hospital.

Hackl doesn't talk about his dad's death. Just like he doesn't like to talk about his Olympic chances.

When asked by reporters about his historic opportunity in Salt Lake City, the German shook his head, threw up his hands and stormed away.

After walking a few yards he turned and shouted, "Think about a new question. I don't know what the results of the race will be. I'm working hard on me, but there are so many other competitors. They are much better."

With that, Hackl walked home.

Unlike most sliders, who take long bus rides from the athlete's village some 30 minutes away, Hackl has rented a house about 100 yards from the top of the luge track at Utah Olympic Park.

And while gruff at times, Hackl can be jovial, even as he teeters on history's brink.

The German ? happily married to Margit Hackl since 1999 ? commented Thursday that he grew his goatee because "In the vacation in the summer I recognized that the women like this."

Born in Berchtesgaden in the Bavarian region of Germany, Hackl partakes in local traditions, including wearing lederhosen and toasting victories with beer.

"I like Utah beer," he said with a smile.

The German will, of course, have some competition, even if it seems like everyone else is competing for silver.

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Italy's Armin Zoeggeler, who won the overall World Cup points race last year and out dueled Hackl to take last season's world championship in Calgary, has faded this year. While Zoeggeler remains a threat, Austria's Markus Prock is being touted as Hackl's chief rival.

Then there's the Americans, who have finished the season strong and are on their home turf. Tony Benshoof and Adam Heidt will mount the U.S. challenge to Hackl's reign. They note that anything's possible.

"Georg is a great slider, but he's human. He's not Superman," Benshoof said. "He can be beat."

E-MAIL: bsnyder@desnews.com

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