Hackl won his first Winter Olympic Games luge medal in 1988 in Calgary, when he finished second in the singles event, while placing fourth in the doubles. Four years later, he improved his performance to win the gold, a feat he repeated in 1994 and 1998. In 1998, he won the gold by clocking the fastest time in all four runs, the first in Olympic history to do so. Hackl won the silver medal again in the 2002 Games, becoming the first Winter Olympian to win a medal in five consecutive Olympics.