After qualifying in 15th place, the army athlete faced Russian Dimitri Timofejew in the first knockout round. The local hero, who has already won a Speed World Cup, went into the duel as the clear favorite in second place in the qualification – Plangger nevertheless won it. With a good start, the Innsbrucker put his opponent under pressure before he slipped away.
“I just wanted to climb freely, I succeeded. During the run I noticed that he was making a mistake, but I was able to maintain my concentration. Then I tied off and realized that I was in the top eight, an unbelievable feeling, ”said Plangger.
A hundredth of a second is missing from the semifinals
In the quarter-finals, the Tyrolean then met the Spaniard Erik Noya Cardona. In a thrilling duel, Austria’s speed record holder finally had to admit defeat by a hundredth of a second and only missed the semi-finals by a hair’s breadth.
Plangger fifth at the World Climbing Championships in Moscow
At the World Climbing World Championships in Moscow on Thursday, the titles in the speed competition went to Poland’s Natalia Kalucka and Daniel Boldyrew from Ukraine. The Austrian Tobias Plangger came in a sensational fifth.
“The next great race. I get on really well with Erik, it was a close duel and a great show. This time it was enough for him, next time it may be different. I’m still young and still have a few competitions ahead of me, ”said Plangger.
“I am overwhelmed and very satisfied”
In the end, he finished fifth and cheered with the support team. “It’s hard to put all of this into words. I am overwhelmed and very satisfied that everything went as I imagined – and actually even better. I didn’t expect such a placement, ”said the happy 20-year-old.
Fifth place is also the best red-white-red speed result in World Cup history. Never before has an Austrian been better placed in this discipline. “This is the first time I’ve heard this, but I’m not surprised. Speed wasn’t that much of a focus in Austria, but I’m happy that I was able to change that. Maybe one day we will also manage to win a medal at a World Cup, ”said Plangger.
The supervisory team is happy with Plangger
The KVÖ support team around sports director Heiko Wilhelm and KVÖ national coach Kilian Fischhuber were happy with the Tyrolean. “Fifth place at a World Cup, someone has to do it first. Tobias has paid off for his consistent hard work, and it almost could have been even more. It is unthinkable if he wins the quarter-finals and makes it to the semi-finals ”, Fischhuber scattered his protégé Rosen.
Laura Stöckler also made it into the final, but had to admit defeat to world record holder Aleksandra Miroslaw from Poland in the first round. The Lower Austrian took 15th place in the final score. Alexandra Elmer (17th) missed the final by a hair’s breadth in the qualifying, Jessica Pilz (24th) took the speed competition with her for the combined ranking.
