Sport Austria Finals: Celebrity fans and Olympic flair
20 sports were on the program on the third day of the Sport Austria Finals powered by Intersport & Holding Graz. In other words: Saturday was the day of the major battle in and around Graz - from Eggenberg to Weinzödl, from Thalersee to Liebenau. Olympic hopes in the stands, an Olympic winter sportswoman is also successful in summer and when cheerleading, even a hail shower cannot put an end to the spectacle.
KARATE
Karate Austria conjured up a touch of the Olympics in the neat ASKÖ hall in Eggenberg on Saturday. For many, the state championships were a final test run before the Olympic qualification in Paris next weekend.
With her fifth national kata title, Kristin Wieninger (22) warmed up for France. "That was a good warm-up for Paris, I feel very good," says the army athlete from St. Pölten, who last came 7th in the Premier League in Lisbon. “Hope is alive, the qualifying tournament is filled like a World Cup, only the best four are not there. And after I was fifth in the World Cup, everything is possible with a perfect performance. "
Everything is possible next week in Paris for Kata national champion Patrick Valet (29), who won his fourth title in a row in Graz. “The top nations have their fixed places for Tokyo, so anything can happen in Paris. In any case, I want to be at the forefront, ”says the Klagenfurt resident, who is currently completing his master's degree in information technology there.
For Patrick Valet, who fights for Inoue-Ha Feldkirchen, the state championship title is always a very emotional thing: “Before my first title in 2017 in St. Pölten, we had to cope with a death in our team, he was a friend and great karateka. We will never forget him!"
The Olympic hopes Bettina Plank, Stefan Pokorny, Luca and Robin Rettenbacher decided not to take part in the state championships, but used the time in Graz for intensive show training.
“A multi-sport event like this is extremely important for karate and other sports that don't have that much media coverage. The spirit here in Graz can be felt despite the Corona restrictions, everyone is happy that the sport is finally starting again ”, panted a sweaty Stefan Pokorny, who recently won the third bronze medal in a row at the European Championships in Porec. “I'm in a good mood and ready for the Olympic qualification in Paris!” Says the Salzburg army athlete.
INLINE SPEEDSKATING
No matter if summer or winter - Vanessa Herzog is always hot for a title! So the Tyrolean celebrated three gold medals in inline speed skating on Saturday. The victories in the one-lap, over 1.000 m and in the points race over 10.000 m were synonymous with titles 77, 78 and 79. "It was a long day on the track, but the award ceremony on the main square was all the more beautiful," said a happy Also the Olympic fourth from Pyeongchang 2018 on the big stage in the "Thunderdome".
The successful speed skater is impressed by the idea of the Sport Austria Finals. "I always watched the German edition of the finals in the live stream in 2019, but I like the concept in Austria even better because the focus here is also on the smaller sports," said the Carinthian by choice, who said on Sunday still drives the 10.000 m elimination and will start again internationally this summer. Only in the European Cup and in mid-July at the European Championships in Portugal.
Organizer Hans-Peter Kraus also drew a positive balance after the first day of racing. “The favorites prevailed, but we at SC Highlander were also able to look forward to lots of junior medals and championship titles.” And the fact that the thunderstorm passed the roundabout at Center West in Webling by around one kilometer.
RACKETLON
Youth to power - and the end of a winning streak that has lasted since 2014! Sportunion Racket Athletes Austria ended the years of dominance of Sportunion Racket Point Vienna and secured the first Bundesliga title in the club's history. After the first two disciplines, table tennis and badminton, Racket Point was in the lead.
The turning point came with squash, until the tennis doubles the lead changed back and forth.
There the team of Racketlon Austria President Marcel Weigl, who showed his legendary Weigl fist in all four disciplines, made everything clear, played an 11-point lead and only needed one point in the men's singles, the youngster Florian Harca worried.
“It was a close duel in which the youth made the difference in the end. We consciously carried out the generation change and were rewarded for it, ”said Weigl, who is now the first player in Austria to win the Bundesliga title with two clubs.
CHEERLEADING
Spectacular cheer action in Graz! As part of the Sport Austria Finals, the Austrian Cheerleading Championships will take place on Saturday and Sunday. Even a change of location could not spoil the mood on the first day of the competition.
At the main square in Graz, the cheerleaders heated up the fans with great choreographies. In the afternoon a thunderstorm came up, the “Thunderdome” had to be cleared and the further decisions to be moved to the hall. “That was a bit of a shame, but the audience understood it. All in all, it was a great day of competition, ”said ÖCCV President Julia Harrer.
At the national championships, the AFC Dacia Vienna Vikings then prevailed with 225,5 points ahead of Danube Dragons Sport & Event Cheerleading (208 points). Third place went to the SWARCO Raiders Tirol (176,5), fourth place to the Telfs Patriots (146,0).
“The result is not a big surprise. I am particularly pleased that we had many different winners in the various classes - that shows that young talents are coming up all over Austria, ”said Harrer. Basically, the championships are an ideal starting shot: “After the long break, everyone was very happy to be able to compete again. The Sport Austria Finals offer the perfect setting for this. "
COED SLOW PITCH SOFTBALL
Three days of intense competition are history, 24 games played and in the end the Linz Witches & Bandits win again.
The defending champions underlined their supremacy in Ballpark Graz with a start-to-finish victory. The Upper Austrians remained unbeaten in 9 matches.
Due to a long rain interruption, the final could no longer be held due to darkness - according to the regulations, the result of the group phase applies. Second place went to Rubberducks Wr. Neustadt, the Dornbirn Indians Slowpitch won the bronze medal.
“We are super happy, even if the last game could not be played. In the last 3 days we were able to win all 9 games and underline our ambitions. We are more than satisfied with the performance shown and really enjoyed the award ceremony on the main square. A great atmosphere for an honor, ”said Gabriele Hardinger from the Linz Witches & Bandits, happily defending her title.
ROCK'N'ROLL / BOOGIE WOOGIE
The Austrian Rock'n'Roll and Boogie-Woogie championships took place on Saturday in the completely sold-out Bluebox in Liebenau - the 204 tickets for the morning and afternoon were quickly sold out per session.
Andreas Aigner and Elsa Köck (BWC Boogiehasen) won the seventh title of their joint career after a strong performance in the Boogie-Woogie Main Class A. Second place also went to the BWC Boogiehasen. Alexander Belyy and Velina Iantcheva danced silver, in front of Hannes Berger and Magdalena Pfeiffer (New Rock Generation), who were happy about the bronze.
If everything goes according to plan, it should be the last Austrian championship title under the name Aigner / Köck in 2021. The two will finally say yes in July after the corona-related postponement and will in future appear as Aigner / Aigner on the dance floor. As a little foretaste, Aigner / Köck completed part of their program in a white and black wedding outfit.
KICKBOXING
On Saturday the Austrian professional association for kick and Thai boxing started in the category tatami sport (pointfighting, light contact and kick light) in the Sport Austria Finals in Graz.
The preliminary round and semi-final fights in the different weight classes took place in the Union sports hall. The final decisions will follow on Sunday. Medals were awarded in two competitions on Saturday.
Erik Zimmermann, son of the Austrian kickboxing legend Gerald Zimmermann, won the PF Grand Champion Open category. The Carinthian double European champion from the wellness and martial arts club Union Velden prevailed against his teammate Raphael Wassertheurer in a curious way - a coin toss was the decision.
“We fight each other several times a week. Since we still have important fights ahead of us on Sunday, we decided on this variant - these four minutes would not have changed anything. Our friendship is paramount. In this case, Erik had luck on his side, ”explains Wassertheurer, who is in the finals of the pointfight and light contact categories (up to 84 kg each) on Sunday.
The bronze medals after losing semi-finals went to the two brothers Matthias and Johannes Weninger (Point Fighters Thermenregion).
In the second day's decision, the Union Velden team prevailed over the Kruckenhauser martial arts center. The shared third place went to the Point Fighters Thermenregion and the ATSV Leinzing Modal Section Kickboxing.
BREAKING
A bit of rap, a bit of hip-hop and a lot of spectacular breaking action. In the morning, the youth competitions were the focus of attention in the ASKÖ Center. The afternoon then belonged to the B-Boys and B-Girls who completed the qualification, group phase and knock-out phase with more than 100 athletes.
The young Olympic sport will move on Sunday - Breaking will be at the 2024 Games in Paris, in the “Thunderdome”, where the titles will be awarded in front of a sold out house. If you haven't received any tickets, you can use www.sportpassaustria.at be there live.
PADEL
Part one of the state padel championships. Despite the rain interruption, all scheduled matches took place in the Racket Sport Center Graz as part of the Sport Austria Finals.
In the men's competition, the top favorites David Alten and Christoph Krenn made it through to the semi-finals. There they will have to deal with Georg Hubich and Andreas Spreitzer on the final day (Sunday). In the second semifinals, the hosts Michael Moitzi / Patrick Ludwig and Niklas Schmutz / Martin Schmidt get it.
For the women, the preliminary round developed into a thrill: Barbara Prenner and Elisabeth Seehofer had to win the final group game against Stefanie Wilfling and Annina Ebhardt without losing a set in order to preserve the chance of the semi-finals. Prenner / Seehofer were already 2: 4 behind and shortly before the end. Then came the downpour - and the turning point. After a 20-minute rain break, Prenner / Seehofer fought their way back and won 6: 4, 6: 3.
At the end of the group of four, the two couples like Rebeca Fernandez Niederacher / Mirjam Gartner had two victories, the set balance decided in favor of Niederacher / Gartner and Prenner / Seehofer. In the second group of four, Katharina Kothmayer / Christine Wallmüller and Maria Aumann / Alexandra Schilling made it to the semi-finals. On Sunday the semi-finals and finals will be shown live www.sportpassaustria.at.
GOLF
The GC Murhof favorites go into the final as leaders (total score: 1 strokes in stroke play) after day 18 of the U229 team championships. On Sunday the title decision will be made on the 18-hole course at the Thalersee Golf Club.
The Murhof players compete there in match play against the fourth placed in the qualification of GC Schloss Schönborn (Lower Austria, 244 strokes). The second semifinals are contested by the GC Klagenfurt-Seltenheim (K, 240) and GC Kremstal (Upper Austria, 240) teams, who finished in 2nd and 3rd place in the qualification. The games for victory and 3rd place take place over 18 holes, the placement games over 9.
The emotional highlight was the Special Olympics kick-off event the day before, where golfers with and without disabilities went over 6 holes together. On Saturday there were 11 golfers with various disabilities with a lot of Special Olympics spirit on the golf course over 9 holes.
WATERBALL
At the end of an extensive sports Saturday, the local water polo elite fought for the coveted final places in two exciting semi-finals in the Auster wellness and adventure pool. The eagerly awaited prestige duel between WBC Graz and ASV Vienna was hard to beat in terms of drama.
In an intense game, the home side had to admit defeat at 10:12 and “only” play for third place on Sunday. Kristof Molnar's team meets PL Salzburg. The final of the Austrian Water Polo Cup 2021 will be played on Sunday by ASV Wien and WBC Tirol, who won the West Derby with one goal difference.
“We led for a long time and only gave up the game in the last quarter. We were really good as a team. We stuck together well, but in the end we ran out of strength a little. The bottom line was that it wasn't enough and ASV Wien deserved to make it into the final, ”said Molnar, annoyed at the bitter defeat.
LASER RUN
In Eggenberg the karateka fought for titles inside the hall, while outside in the blazing sun the modern pentathletes turned their rounds on the track. In the laser run, the final sub-discipline of modern pentathlon, medals were run and shot.
The big winners of this championship are the athletes of ATUS Graz, who conquered a total of 11 medals at home, followed by HSV Graz with 5 and HSV Wr. Neustadt with 4 precious metals.
Particularly impressive was the performance of 18-year-old Florian Bärenthaler from ATUS Graz, who not only won his age group, but also the title of state champion in the general class. Bärenthaler could soon follow in the footsteps of Wr. Neustädters Gustav Gustenau, who wants to use the last chance to qualify for the Olympic Games in Tokyo at the World Cup in Cairo next week.
In the women’s category, the 20-year-old newcomer Carina Reicht from ASU Get Endurance surprised, when she won the Austrian championship title in the general class on her debut.
With her club colleague Christoph Schlagbauer, she found her way onto the podium for a second time with the mixed championship title.
For the young athletes, after the restart from the long corona-related break at the Sport Austria Finals international in June, the Swiss Open in Bern will continue. The highlight is the U17 and U19 World Championships in four-way combat (fencing, swimming, laser run) in Cairo.
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!
