Sport Austria Finals Day 1: titles, tears and dances of joy

First day of competition at the Sport Austria Finals powered by Intersport & Holding Graz. With a spectacular decision in the Olympic mountain bike cross-country competition and a duel between the young stars. With a last-minute decision in 3 × 3 basketball. With a dramatic change in leadership in the men's relay during orienteering. With the first titles in water jumping, the preliminary decisions in the Water Polo Cup, the first live stream for the Racketlon Juniors and much more.

MOUNTAIN BIKE

The duel between the young mountain bike stars Mona Mitterwallner and Laura Stigger attracted many fans to the cross-country track in Stattegg - but the decision was made early on in the race over hill and dale, uphill and downhill. With a new national champion: Junior World Champion Mitterwallner celebrated a superior victory and celebrated her first national title in the general class.

"It is an indescribable feeling to wear the red-white-red jersey at least until the next national championships at all races," said the 19-year-old, who after a good start to her competitor was patient and waited for her chance. “I knew that a lot can happen in five laps in the heat. But I felt really strong today, was totally in the flow and didn't have to suffer at all. "

That has not always been the case in the last few days. “I had a pretty hard time that it didn't work out twice with the Olympic nomination, it was very painful. I know that I could have achieved a good result in Tokyo too. "

Defending champion Stigger, runner-up by more than four minutes, took it easy. “The performance wasn't that bad, especially on the first lap and in the downhill sections. It's a shame that I couldn't get the red-white-red jersey again, but I'm looking ahead towards Tokyo. ”Unlike Mitterwallner, the Ötztaler will start in the Eliminator on Friday. Third place went to Anna Spielmann.

The decision was tighter for the men: Olympic starter Max Foidl - he will accompany the Eliminator on Friday as an ORF expert - prevailed in the duel with defending champion and veteran Karl Markt with a lead of just a few minutes.

Gregor Raggl landed in third place. “My plan worked completely today. I was able to fully play out my strengths on the track and knew that the descents are extremely good for me. When a mistake happened behind me, I pulled through, ”said the Tyrolean, happy about his first championship jersey.

After a mixed start to the season, it also brought relief for the next few kilometers on the way to Tokyo. “In the first races I had a lot of bad luck and no results - although the form would have been right. In combination with the Olympic nomination, that was a bad situation. That's why I'm all the happier that it opened up to me today. "

BASKETBALL

Big show on Graz main square - and again the 3 × 3 basketball players made the “Thunderdome” shake. The boys' U18 state championship developed into a gripping crime thriller. Heartbeat finals included!

The BK IMMOunited Dukes from Klosterneuburg met the hosts UBSC Graz in the final. A top-class finale developed on an equal footing. Again and again the players put themselves in the limelight.

Until a few seconds before the end, everything looked like a home win, the Graz team led by 12:11. But 1,5 seconds before the end, the team of referees decided on a free throw for Klosterneuburg after a technical foul. Joshua Schönbeck had to go to the line. The pressure was great, the nerves held, the balance was successful. Overtime. The extra time was also fiercely contested, the mood in the "Thunderdome" boiled over. Until Nico Höllerl took heart and made the decisive point.

The Dukes won with 14:13 and after the U19 state championship in 5 against 5 also secured the U18 state championship in 3 × 3. “It's hard to believe, we're just overjoyed. First of all, thanks to the organizers, the Sport Austria Finals are a great thing, everything is well organized. It was a lot of fun and we are very happy that it turned out that way ”, cheered captain Leo Koll.“ That was a crazy final, but in the end we deserved to win. It's really been a great year for us. "

Also special was the fact that a few days before the Sport Austria Finals the Olympic Qualifier had taken place at exactly that point on the main square in Graz. Koll: “All of us in the team saw that. To stand here yourself now and win is special. An absolute highlight! "

ORIENTATION RUN

Dramatic relay decisions at the start of the national orienteering championship as part of the Sport Austria Finals. The relay of the OLC Graz was in the lead after starting runner Mathias Peter, but Kilian Trummer accidentally ran past 3 posts afterwards. "I'm very disappointed," said the 19-year-old substitute runner for the injured Matthias Gröll. “As the youngest runner, I was of course under pressure and wanted to do my job particularly well. Unfortunately I had folded away part of the map on which 3 items were drawn. "

The way was clear for the Naturfeunde Wien 1 with Clemens Wolfram, Nicolas Kastner and Jannis Bonek who mastered the difficult route from the ASKÖ Stadium Eggenberg up towards Plabutsch through steep, densely wooded area in 1: 57,55 hours.

In return, the OLC Graz 1 women's team with Johanna Trummer, Carlotta Salet and Laura Ramstein celebrated defending their title. “You can rely on our ladies”, jubilates OLC Graz chairman Günter Kradischnig. "But we are sticking to our big goal of finally getting the relay titles for women and men in the same year."

JUMPING WATER

Finally summer, the first title decisions in water jumping on the grounds of the Grazer Auster were a perfect match. Nikolaj Schaller (Swim Union Vienna), who last worked at the European Championships in Budapest, was crowned Austrian champion on the 3 m board in the men's competition. With 373,65 points, Schaller prevailed ahead of his club colleague Alexander Hart (359,50 points). Graz local hero Dariusz Lotfi (GAK Diving) completed the podium in third place with 343,65 points.

The decision from the women's 1m board was a clear one. Cara Albiez (GAK Diving), who celebrated her European Championship premiere just a few weeks ago, secured the title with 205,20 points. Her teammates Annika Meusburger (2) and Olivia Meusburger (3) followed in second and third place.

FENCING

At the beginning of the fencing program, the foil competitions were on the program. In the men's category, Tobias Reichetzer secured the gold medal. For the Lower Austrian it is the first national championship title: “It's always nice to win a tournament at home. Especially the state championship, because all Austrians are at the start. This victory is very special. "

Reichetzer hadn't found the competition to be good at all. “I didn't feel good in the preliminary round. Then at some point I opened the button. ”But the next challenge followed: From the quarter-finals, the eventual winner had to compete against training partners.

“It's very difficult because you just know each other very well. You can hardly surprise anyone and you have to do something special. Fortunately, I managed to do that, ”analyzes the former U23 European champion. In the final he finally prevailed against Moritz Lechner, third place went to Johannes Poscharnig.

Reichetzer and the fencing association already celebrated a victory by participating in the Sport Austria Finals. “Everything was well organized, the first real competition after a year and a half break. The Covid-19 pandemic was really tough for us, we weren't allowed to train for a long time. It was weird to play another tournament - but very cool. "

In the women's category, Freya Cenker won her first national title. "I've been in the final several times, but it has never worked out," said the Viennese. “So I'm all the more pleased with this title. One of my most beautiful victories! ”In the final she prevailed against Beatrice Kudlacek, 3rd place went to Lilli Maria Brugger. “It was great to compete again. The COVID break was long, but it actually helped me. I was able to develop well during that time, ”said the former army athlete.

The fencer is enthusiastic about the Sport Austria Finals: “Of course it would be even better if spectators were allowed everywhere, but the concept is very cool. It is extremely important that we present ourselves to a broad public here. The problem with fencing is that it is very complex and if you don't know the rules it can quickly become boring. But once people get it, they stick with it and get excited. Maybe a few children are watching the live stream and then want to start fencing. I would be very happy about that."

 WATERBALL

After numerous postponements caused by corona, the Austrian Water Polo Cup should still find a worthy stage at the Sport Austria Finals in 2021. While the first decisions in diving were made on Thursday in the outdoor area of ​​the Grazer Auster, the indoor area in the men's water polo really got down to business.

Six teams fought in two groups for promotion to the semi-finals. In Group 1, Graz clearly prevailed with 3 wins in 3 games, Salzburg took second place with a 21-2 win over Linz. In Group 2, WBC Tirol celebrated three wins, ASV Vienna beat WBC 2: 27 Innsbruck through. On Saturday evening there will be the exciting semi-final duels between WBV Graz and ASV Vienna and WBC Tirol against Paris Lodron Salzburg.

"We played two very good games today at great speed and achieved our first goal of reaching the semi-finals, even if we have to correct a few small mistakes and appear more mature for the next round," explains WBV Graz trainer Kristof Molnar, who is in the game against Linz in the group stage gave some young players valuable game minutes. “In the Bundesliga there is a head-to-head race with ASV Wien, so we are looking forward to the direct duel in the cup. It will be a difficult duel on Saturday, but we really want to make it to the final at home. "

The women's semi-final games Pelikan Bregenz vs. ASV Wien and WBC Tirol vs. SV Wörthersee will follow on Sunday morning.

SPORTS ACROBATICS

Austria's 152 best sports acrobats in 51 formations (from those 5 federal states in which there were training releases for top athletes during the corona lockdown) fight for the title in the Raiffeisen-Sportpark Graz

There are a total of 161 competition exercises in six performance classes, from youngsters to the elite. For the very strongest couples and trios, the Sport Austria Finals are the last major competition before the World Cup in Geneva (SUI) at the end of June. After the first day, LZ USA Krems with Jimena Wagensonner, Lena Ulrich and Svenja Maglock is in the lead with 3 points in the W26,29 elite class.

RACKETLON

 In the Racket Sport Center Graz, the Racketlon competitions started with Juniors Day. The best young talent in the country (U11, U13, U16, U21) determined their best in singles and doubles. “We not only played three courts in parallel in each discipline, but also streamed the center court live for the first time with the children and young people. Parents, friends and relatives could be there even though no spectators were allowed, ”said RFA President Marcel Weigl. The general class will attack from Friday, the juniors will still contest a team competition.

SEAT BALL

The SV Franckviertel Linz won the title in the Sitzball of the Austrian Disabled Sports Association for the first time in a heartbeat finish against the TU Schwaz. Bronze went to BBBSV Wien, who had their share in the narrow title decision, VSC Graz took 4th place. The game was played in the HIB Liebenau, also known as the bluebox. In the championship, which was held on one day with a return leg during the finals, it remained exciting until the last point. The Linz and Tyroleans had won all games, only lost one direct duel each. In the end there was the better point difference. Because in the last game Tyrol beat Vienna closer than expected, Linz won the seat ball championship for the first time in history.

“That we are masters is really unexpected. Because of the pandemic, we weren't able to train a lot. I've been playing sit-down ball for 21 years, and that was the first time I won the title this year, it is tremendous! ”Said Josef Weinberger, player of SV Franckviertel Linz.

COED SLOW PITCH SOFTBALL

The Linz Witches & Bandits, who are defending their championships in Graz, are right on course after day one of the Austrian Coed Slowpitch Softball Championship. As expected, the Upper Austrians won the first four games of the basic round in the mixed variant at Ballpark Graz.

In addition to three clear victories, the Linz Witches & Bandits had to tremble for a long time in a highly dramatic game against the Ruberducks Wiener Neustadt, but ultimately kept their nerve and brought the narrow lead over time. So the people of Linz go into the second day with a clean slate.

All information, news and results from the Sport Austria Finals powered by Intersport & Holding Graz can be found online at www.sportaustriafinals.at - The live streams of the title decisions are collected on www.sportpassaustria.at!