Winter Olympics 2022 - 'Rest in Peace' - Rupert Staudinger's helmet tribute to AJ Rosen after death of 'big brother'

Updated 06/02/2022 at 10:36 GMT

"I shared a room with him in PyeongChang at the Olympic Winter Games and before that he was a huge mentor for me and I probably would have not been at the Games without him" - Team GB luger Rupert Staudinger paid tribute to his former team mate AJ Rosen, who passed away in December after battling cancer, with a helmet tribute in Beijing.

'He's got to be proud' - GB's Staudinger competes at Beijing with helmet tribute

Team GB luger Rupert Staudinger has paid tribute to his late team-mate and three-time Olympian AJ Rosen.

Rosen passed away in December at the age of 37 after battling with cancer.

He competed at Turin 2006, Vancouver 2010 and PyeongChang 2018 and achieved Great Britain's greatest ever result at a luge World Cup, finishing sixth in Calgary during the 2008-2009 season.

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And Staudinger sought permission from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to wear a custom helmet reading 'RIP AJ' when competing in Beijing on Saturday.

"I've made a little tribute for my very special friend AJ, who sadly passed away in December because of cancer," he said.

"He played a huge part in my career and I decided that it's a little thing to keep his memory alive.

"He was such a great guy. I'm a little bit speechless because it's ever so sad that he's not here anymore because of cancer so young.

"I had to get special permission to have the message on the helmet, it had to go through the IOC but that wasn't a problem."

Staudinger competed with Rosen in his first Olympics in 2018, and was full of praise for the athlete who helped him inside the sport and out.

"It's hard to explain," he added. "He helped in so many ways, not just sliding but general life things.

"He played a huge part in my luge career - taught me so much about sliding.

"I shared a room with him in PyeongChang at the Olympic Winter Games and before that he was a huge mentor for me and I probably would have not been at the Games without him.

"Back at the Games in 2018, he basically was a big brother to me. He helped me handle everything that all of a sudden happens to you at a Games."

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