Alpine skiing: President demands victories and crystal balls

Stadlober sees the framework conditions for Ski Austria’s successes in place. In the women’s team, which was completely disappointing in some cases, there was another personnel change. With Roland Assinger replacing Thomas Trinker, a new head coach was installed and the president has a good feeling about him. “I think the new head coach has been well received, I’ve actually only heard good things. We have found a team structure again with the women,” said Stadlober.

When the situation between the athletes and the support team came to a head last year, Stadlober publicly sided with the athletes. It is foreign to her to interfere in sporting matters. “I only get involved when it’s necessary. And even then, not directly, I first get an overview by talking to all parties,” explained the 60-year-old. “Where troubleshooting is necessary, yes, but I will never impose myself.”

GEPA/Mathias Mandl Roland Assinger succeeded Thomas Trinker as women’s head coach

A lot of effort, little return

The France World Cup was overshadowed by the lack of a gold medal. In addition, the best men and women in the World Cup did not come from the ÖSV for the second time in a row. A third time in a row would be a first since the World Cup was introduced in 1967.

After a brief hesitation, Stadlober answered the question of whether the current sporting return was in line with the financial expenditure with “Yes. Because we also need this input that we give. If we were to make cuts, the framework conditions that our athletes need would suffer. It may be that the output is not always quite as hoped. But it will come back.”

High average age

While a large number of winning runners are missing, the ÖSV talents are also trying hard to show off on the World Cup stage. The age pyramid of the squad is upside down. In the 19-man elite squad, the average is 29.7 years, in the A squad below it is 28.1. Of these 43 athletes, only Lisa Grill (23) and Michelle Niederwieser (24) are younger than 25 years. Only the B squad nominees are similarly young and younger.

Alpine skiing

World Cup calendar 2023/24

According to Stadlober, this is also because athlete careers now last longer. “I ended my career at 25, when many people are just starting out.” This makes it all the more difficult for young runners to conquer starting places.

Norway as a role model

The widely praised Norwegians, for example, do not have exactly this problem. “They don’t have that many athletes, they can easily fill their starting places with boys.” However, Stadlober generally believes that the Scandinavians’ approach to sport is desirable.

“Norway as a nation has a completely different attitude to sport.” This is also reflected in the general conditions. “We don’t have an indoor ski hall like Oslo, we only have a few floodlit pistes or cross-country trails where I can do sports in the evening after school.”

According to Stadlober, indoor ski facilities should at least be discussed in Austria too. “A ski hall would be ideal for a big city in terms of promoting young talent. Why not in Vienna? “It would certainly be welcome to have the confidence to go beyond that in the future,” said Stadlober.

2023-10-26 13:32:42
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