Sport Austria Finals: Breaking makes Thunderdome shake

End, over, over! The first Sport Austria Finals powered by Intersport & Holding Graz are history. The breakers ensured the end point with an impressive performance in the “Thunderdome”. Sarah Lagger checked her form at the club championship for athletes. Former champions celebrated a golden comeback in fencing and racketlon.

BREAKING

 Sold out house at the end! The “Thunderdome” on Graz's main square was filled to the last seat. In the boxes and on the dance floor. B-boys, B-girls and the fans turned the mega-arena into a cauldron - and got a lot on offer. In the women's breaking competition, top favorite Sinamaria Neugebauer (aka B-Girl Sina) won the coveted gold medal. This also makes her the first female national champion in the young sport.

“Today I had to go to my limits and beyond,” said the Olympic format for the Tyrolean “incredibly challenging, but that's exactly why I train 20 hours and more per week”. The victory was also the ticket for the Breaking European Championships in Sochi in June. "I'm looking forward to everything that is coming, have fun breaking - it was absolutely the right decision to practice this sport," said the Olympic hope, who received her gold medal from a participant in the Special Olympics.

The decision of the B-Boys was special, because the championship honors went to the runner-up. The victory went to Lil Zoo, the Innsbruck-based Moroccan - also an Olympic candidate - is still waiting for his naturalization process to be completed. So the Salzburg ipot could look forward to the premiere title. "You have to go to the limit if you want to be right at the front, I succeeded today", the Salzburg native will also start at the European Championship.

ATHLETICS

Dress rehearsal successful! Athletics selected the club champions for women and men at the Sport Austria Finals, and at the end of June the national championship titles will be awarded in the ASKÖ-Sportcenter in the last national competition before the Olympic nomination.

In the men's category, SVS athletics prevailed with 59 points against the TGW decathlon union (52 points). The decision was made in the 4 × 100 m relay, in which the Upper Austrians remained without points after a handover error.

In return, Roland Werthner's team was able to celebrate the women's title. Also thanks to heptathlete and Olympic candidate Sarah Lagger, who competed in the disciplines javelin, ball, high jump and with the relay. For the Carinthian, it was the last test before her last attempt at the Tokyo ticket next weekend in Arona (ITA).

Triple jumper Endiorass Kingley (TGW Zehnkampf-Union) qualified with 15,14 m for the U20 European Championships, Lena Lackner (ATSV Linz LA) beat the limit for the U100 World Championships over 14,12 m hurdles with a time of 20 seconds.

FENCING

What a comeback! The name Matthias Willau is familiar to every fencing fan. For years he dominated the local scene, won numerous national championship titles, was runner-up in the U17 world championship and just barely missed qualifying for the Olympic Games in Rio in 2016.

Then it became quiet around the Lower Austrian, he withdrew from the active events. After a break of almost five years, he now celebrated his surprising comeback at the Austrian State Championships in Graz. “I've trained a bit in the last two or three months,” said Willau. "Without any great ambitions, I took that with me alongside my full-time job."

In the ASVÖ hall it looked from the first battle as if he had never been away. Willau moved confidently into the final and finally secured his 8th state championship title with a final victory against Lukas Chiari: “I found my way, the battles were relatively clear. That it was enough to win after the short preparation in the end surprises me a little. "

Willau promptly felt transported back a few years. Does he want to know again internationally? “Basically I am very happy about the title, it reminds me of the successful times of the past. What the future brings remains to be seen. ”One thing is certain:“ Fencing so liberated is really fun. I feel totally relaxed, it's a pleasure project. I don't put any pressure on myself! "

While a veteran prevailed among the men, a young athlete triumphed among the women: Iasmina Mizrak won her premiere title with a final victory over Dorothea Tanzmeister. “After the lockdown, I was a bit behind in training, so I wasn't expecting too much. So I was able to keep a cool head and finally win the gold medal, ”analyzed the Viennese.

The 21-year-old won the state champion title when she first started in the senior class: “The first medal in the adult category is special. Special thanks to my trainer Johannes Hradez, who always believed in me and trained with me. "

RACKETLON

And the marmot greets you every day! At the 19th Austrian Racketlon State Championships in the Racket Sport Center, Christine Seehofer and Michael Dickert, the "usual suspects", secured the title.

Seehofer, number 1 in the Racketlon world rankings and multiple world champion, won three sovereign victories in a group of five. In the final game, however, the Viennese had to give up in tears due to a shoulder injury. The previous victories were enough for the 9th individual championship title ahead of Bettina Bugl and Martina Meißl.

“The shoulder keeps causing me problems, so far no doctor has been able to help me. Suddenly the pain came in and I just couldn't go on ”, said Seehofer. The tears? A mixture of disappointment, anger and pain: “You never want to give up because it's not good for your opponent either. The head wanted, but the body said no. "

The joy of the gold medal was correspondingly clouded. “As number one in the world, of course, you also want to impress in your home country, everyone expects me to win. Seen this way, despite the injury, it's a certain relief. "

Michael Dickert had less pressure, but overall one more championship title. The Viennese was once the title hamster, but his last triumph at the Austrian Championships was seven years ago. Dickert ascended to the throne again on Sunday.

With strong performances he fought his way to the final, where Emanuel Schöpf, the title holder of the last three years, waited. The roles were clearly assigned, Schöpf the favorite. However, the Bludenzer had to give up injured after the first two disciplines. “I'm sorry the final ended like this. You wouldn't wish that to any opponent, but of course I'm super happy with the title, ”said Dickert.

The current Vice President of the Austrian Badminton Association celebrated a milestone anniversary with the 10th title. How many will follow is unclear. “I knew that I could play up front. The title is the best reward for training in the last few months. When I'm on the court, I always itch. Maybe I'll play an international tournament again in the future, I'll have to think about that. "

Third place went to youngster Florian Harca, who leads the U21 world rankings. Dickert: “There are many talents coming up, you can see that here too. We will have a lot of fun there in the next few years. "

WATERBALL

Mission to defend the title - successful. WBC Tirol for women (against ASV Vienna) and ASV Vienna for men (against WBC Tirol) were able to win the Cup again in the Grazer Auster.

The women's final was only decided in stoppage time, after the Tyrolean women with a 5-2 lead after three quarters already looked like the sure winners, the Viennese made it exciting again, won the final section with 6: 3 and equaled in the very last Second of the regular playing time and after a timeout with the last throw to 8: 8. In the penalty shootout, the WBC women had the better end to themselves. Third place went to Pelikan Bregenz, who sank SV Wörthersee 16: 5.

In the men's final, the Viennese struggled with initial difficulties and were trailing 4: 5 after a first section with many goals, but then found their way into the game better and better and turned the sometimes hard-fought game around with many exclusions. Final score: 14:11. In the game for third place, the hosts WBV Graz prevailed 8: 6 against PL Salzburg.

 

 

CHEER DANCE

After the cheerleaders on Saturday, the cheerdancers took the “Thunderdome” on Graz's main square by storm on Sunday. A total of 1.012 female and 13 male athletes took part in the Sport Austria Finals - a nominal record! - and spread a lot of good humor in the Styrian capital.

Julia Harrer, President of the Austrian Cheerleading and Cheerdance Association (ÖCCV) took stock after two energetic days including a heavy downpour: “Everyone was highly motivated after the long break in sports. The long wait finally came to an end, everyone noticed the joy that things were going to start again. Personally, I was impressed by how high the level was for many after the long lockdown. Graz as a sports city is fascinating, the organization of the Sport Austria Finals was great. Even in the heaviest rain, the processes went well. We are really looking forward to the finals in 2022. "

The titles in the performance Cheer Freestyle and Jazz went to the Milleniumdancers Tanzsaus Wien. The Stage Time Company from Amstetten (Lower Austria) won gold in the Cheer Hip Hop performance.

ULTIMATE FRISBEE

The big showdown in the Ultimate Frisbee kept what one could expect from the seeding list. In the final there was a duel between Catchup Graz and Mosquitos Klosterneuburg, expressed in numbers: number 1 against number 2. And the fans at Sportpark Weinzödl were just as little disappointed as those at home on the live stream, which was watched in Canada and Namibia in addition to Australia has been.

It was an intense and exciting final in which the leadership changed several times. When the Graz team pulled away 10: 6, Klosterneuburg was able to equalize again. The last 5 points went to Catchup Graz, which secured the third championship title in a row with 15:10.

“We made good use of the Corona break, invested a lot in training and prepared ourselves specifically so that we are as well prepared as possible for the championship fights at home. The anticipation for the tournament was huge, we were all eager to finally play against the best teams again. We were very sovereign until the final, but we started very nervously against the Mosquitos. It got better as the game continued, but they demanded everything from us, ”said captain Marlen Kainzmayer.

 

 

GOLF

The decision was made on hole 17! Arthur Zirl (16) clenched his fist there when he secured the team championship for GC Murhof on the 17-hole course at the Thalersee Golf Club with his victory in the single against Caroline Stadler (18, Golf Club Kremstal).

Sophia Raab, Thomas Austin, Tim Egger and Arthur Zirl from the GC Murhof team went into the final of the U18 team championships as leaders (total score: 229 strokes in stroke play) on Sunday. Murhof prevailed in the semi-finals in the morning in a match play against Golfclub Schloss Schönborn with 2,5: 0,5. The Kremstaler won the second semifinals 2-1 against GC Klagenfurt-Seltenheim.

In the final it was 1: 1 after the foursome and the first individual. The decision had to be made in the last individual that 16-year-old Zirl and 17-year-old Stadler contested. It took until the 17th hole. The Klagenfurt team won bronze in the small final with a 2-1 win against GC Schloss Schönborn.

Another highlight was the final award ceremony, which was held together with the Special Olympics golfers who had been on the course to the west of Graz over the weekend.

FLOOR BALL

The home tournament couldn't have gone better for the IC Graz team. Almost exactly a year ago, some students took over the association and brought it back to life. Here at the Sport Austria Finals, the local heroes crowned their development with a clear 8: 4 final victory over the Viennese floorball club. 3rd place went to VSV Unihockey.

In the women’s category, the Viennese floorball club won a thrilling game against ASKÖ Floorball Linz Rum 5: 4. A revenge for the league defeat.

Gerold Rachlinger, General Secretary of the Austrian Floorball Association, concluded: “We are absolutely thrilled with the event here in Graz. The number of participating clubs was not decisive for us this year. Many teams have not been allowed to complete any training in the past few months. For us as a floorball association it was an important sign of life and the starting shot for the next few weeks. "

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!