Feature: Olympic gold, marriage, and kids - the plan of Germany's golden skeleton boy Christopher Grotheer

BERLIN, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- The ones calling Christopher Grotheer a daring adventurer might be on the right track.

Until 2007, the 29-year-old loved to jump down the steepest ski jumping hills before he changed his mind and joined the German skeleton team.

This decision didn't promise great success, as male German athletes had never won an Olympic medal or made their way to the top in this discipline since skeleton returned to Olympics in 2002 in Salt Lake City.

Grotheer and his colleague Axel Jungk might have initiated the turnaround, together with head coach Christian Baude.

After five World Championship titles from 2019 to 2021, the time of German skeleton athletes seems to have come just in time for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

Sliding down the track in Yanqing in a perfect way made dreams come true, as Grotheer won a historic gold medal ahead of silver winner Jungk. Yan Wengang won bronze for China.

Grotheer seems like a man going for unexpected decisions. Ahead of the Beijing Games, he changed his sled. "I took the old one from 2018 and put away the new one made for the Olympics," he stated full of pride. "As it looks like the 2018 one is with me until I retire."

Things turned to good without him being able to explain why. Call it his gut feeling, he said. The move turned out to be a golden decision in the end.

Germany's reckless skeleton athlete likes extreme sports coming along with extreme speed.

Discussing the reasons for his Olympic success, the German ends up with two world championships in 2020 and 2021. "That gave me a fundamental motivation boost," he said.

All of a sudden, Grotheer realized he could do it and reached out his hand for an Olympic medal.

"These two titles gave me confidence," he added.

2022 might be his year after having set the starting point in China to a prosperous year. At home in Erlau in Thuringia, his hometown in East Germany, enthusiastic celebrations went on as soon as he crossed the finish line first.

His fiancee Mary Ann Heidisch was in floods of tears and announced that the couple will marry in May 2022 and plan to have children.

Grotheer's former ski jumping coach, Karl-Heinz Hahnel, gathered with old friends to watch the competition out in the forest and expressed his pride.

"This competition was a mental case for me. I won it in a good state," Grotheer said after improving his mental work aside from regular training.

"We can not only win races in Europe but in China at the Olympic Games. A dream has come true," the Olympic champion said.

Grotheer spoke about a long and hard journey. "Thank you to everyone for their contribution," he said, adding special thanks to his fiancee. Mary Ann, he added, is always keeping an eye on his nutrition plan "and thought me to eat healthy things to keep my weight."