“Land of mountains, land by the river, land of fields…” – who would have thought that the first line of the Austrian national anthem would almost ideally describe the starting point for this year’s election of athletes. Numerous athletes, most of whom are based in the mountains, have been nominated both in the individual rankings and in the election for team of the year. Slalom World Cup winner Manuel Feller and ski jumping overall World Cup winner Stefan Kraft made it into the top three for men, two ÖSV aces who conquer the mountains of the world in different ways. The winter line-up is completed by Cornelia Hütter for the women, who sensationally secured the small crystal ball for the downhill World Cup at the World Cup final in Saalbach-Hinterglemm. The Styrian will face competition from Jessica Pilz, who impressed with her Olympic bronze medal in climbing – albeit on an artificial mountain wall.
Speaking of the Olympics. At the Summer Games, the red-white-red team felt particularly comfortable on the river, or rather in the water. Off the coast of Marseille, crowd favorite Valentin Bontus was impressively crowned Olympic kitesurfing champion. The 23-year-old shooting star is competing with his compatriots Kraft and Feller in the election for athlete of the year. Lara Vadlau and Lukas Mähr, two other sailing aces, have been nominated as Team of the Year. The duo took gold in the 470 mixed class and impressively demonstrated Austria’s status as a “sailing nation”.
New award winners
The sailing duo faces competition in the election for Team of the Year from men who travel the fields of this country – at least if you describe the quality of the turf of some football clubs with a wink. The ÖFB national team, led by team boss Ralf Rangnick, created a real “Europhoria” with courageous performances at the European Championship finals in Germany before the bitter end in the round of 16 against Turkey. SK Sturm played their way to the final in the ÖFB Cup and secured their second cup triumph in a row against Rapid. Christian Ilzer’s team was much happier about winning the championship title in the Austrian Bundesliga – their first since the 2010/11 season.
Victoria Hudson celebrated her first title since 1971 last year. The javelin thrower’s European Championship gold medal in Rome was the first complete success at a European Athletics Championships in 53 years. In the election for Female Athlete of the Year, she has to prevail against ski ace Conny Hütter and Olympic medalist Pilz. What is already clear: Austria is getting a new athlete and a new athlete of the year – no one from the top three has already been allowed to accept the award. The evening in the Wiener Stadthalle will be spectacular anyway. This year’s opening is all about Austropop and will delight with a special show act. Tennis ace Dominic Thiem can also look forward to the “Special Award” – presented by none other than David Alaba, who is traveling especially from Madrid. In 2024, two women will host the evening for the first time: Miriam Weichselbraun and Karina Toth.
