Austrian national championships in Eisenerz and Bischofshofen
Sep 28, 2020·Nordic Combined
An early visit of winter kept Austrian officials and athletes busy last weekend when the summer national championships on the normal and large hills were due in Eisenerz and Bischofshofen but the hills had to be cleaned from an early snowfall first. A lot of helpers worked hard to enable the competitions to take place.
In Nordic Combined, the normal hill national titles went to Franz-Josef Rehrl ahead of Thomas Jöbstl and Lukas Greiderer and Sigrun Kleinrath won ahead of Anna-Lena Slamik and Claudia Purker.
“I am overjoyed with my first national title. It is a great feeling and we had a great atmosphere in Eisenerz. The competition was great, everything worked for me”, newly minted champion Kleinrath said after the competition. “It was a shame that Lisa Hirner was not able to compete and battle with me (Editor’s note: she is currently sidelined with a sprained ligament in her ankle) but I was able to gain a lot of self-confidence for the winter.”
Fellow champion Franz-Josef Rehrl agreed: “It was a really good competition, I am proud of myself and really did not see it coming. My first national title was a while ago, this is why I am really happy with this one. I didn’t mind the low temperatures as I usually feel better when it’s colder.”
Also not on start this weekend were Mario Seidl, Bernhard Gruber and Eva Hubinger, who all still recover from injuries and illnesses.
A day later, it was Lukas Greiderer who conquered his first national title after a large hill jump and a 5 km mountain roller ski race. He beat the previous day’s champion Franz-Josef Rehrl, who ended up on rank 3. Thomas Jöbstl claimed yet another second place.
“My first title means a lot to me. Everything just clicked today, I was surprised by my bomb of a jump myself. The race was so exhausting but I didn’t let go of that first place. It was great to compete internally again. This victory gives me a lot of confidence, especially to see that I can match Franz-Josef in the jumping hill.”
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