Popular sport – waiting for the Olympic hype in the Krems region

Even if he is lying on the beach in Croatia: Andreas Schlögl has not let go of the live ticker for the Olympic judo competitions, in which Austria won two medals. Even if the sports director of the Krems Judo Center, which unites over 200 athletes after the merger of the two large Krems judo clubs last year, has secretly counted on precious metal: he still honors the performances of Shamil Borchashvili (bronze) and the silver Michaela Polleres as “Dream achievements that also require incredibly strong personalities”.

The big question now, however, is whether Austria’s Olympic heroes can also have positive effects on the grassroots. They definitely need the local sports clubs. Many young athletes lost interest in sport during the Corona period, coaches and officials see an even stronger connection between young people and game consoles – if at all possible. “We also had to lose our hair during Corona. It is now important that we keep up the hype and then we hope that this is reflected in the number of participants in the beginners’ courses, ”says Schlögl.

There is, however, a big treat for the top athletes at the Judo Center Krems. Fanny Schlögl, Leonie Kittel and Laura Summer will be able to fight for the judo club Wimpassing in the fall, alongside Vice Olympic Champion Polleres in the Bundesliga. “The joy that this cooperation has come about is of course enormous. Our trio can of course only benefit from this, ”says Schlögl.

One of the biggest sensations of the previous games in Tokyo was the gold medal for Anna Kiesenhofer in the road bike race. Even Günther Kanzler, who has been an absolute connoisseur of the cycling, triathlon and mountain bike scene for decades, was “not really known to the amateur rider, who lives in Switzerland. I just knew that she was a good time trial. ”As much as the Chancellor, who is also chairman of the URC Langenlois with around 50 active athletes, was happy about Kiesenhofer’s hussar ride, he expects the organized amateur cycling to have little impact. “Many people prefer to drive for themselves. Anna Kiesenhofer is not such a shining example for clubs. It would be better for us if she was with a club and a professional. “

“The biggest competitor is the game console”

The URC, whose strongest section is the triathlon, has hardly any offspring. There is nobody in the club who looks around, says Kanzler. In addition, inquiries only come in sporadically. “Our biggest competitor is still the game console. For many, that’s sport enough. “

Eduard Holzer, the chairman of the Krems athletics club, doesn’t feel any Olympic hype. “It is good that the general interest is aroused. But it takes an incredibly long time for that to be reflected. ”The 64-year-old has been offering year-round athletics training for 37 years now, and he currently looks after a total of 80 athletes with five trainers.

There is always “great fluctuation” in the junior division, but an unequal number of young people have stopped due to Corona. A shortcoming that Holzer sees in Krems is the infrastructure, which does not allow the practice of technical disciplines such as discus throwing, in which Lukas Weißhaidinger won bronze. “We have a school sports field. We’re not designed for throwing disciplines, and we don’t have the trainers for that either. “

Magdalena Lindner currently spends a lot of time in front of the television. Alongside weightlifter Sarah Fischer, the sprinter from Gneixendorf is probably the hottest candidate from the Krems district for an Olympic ticket in 2024. Over the 100 meters, the 21-year-old’s best performance is currently 11.33 seconds. “You could see that this time would have been enough for the semifinals. Sure, I should be able to call that up. But with my best performance, I wouldn’t have been that bad, ”says Lindner. She now wants to work hard for the next three years to be able to be in Paris in 2024. As an intermediate step, however, the qualification for the Athletics World Cup 2022 in the USA should first succeed.