More than 200,000 sports fans attended the comeback of “Sports Day” at Vienna’s Heldenplatz on September 21st. The Austrian Diocesan Sports Association (DSGÖ) also presented itself, reports the chair team Sepp Eppensteiner and Pepi Frank.
In addition to many interested visitors to the DSGÖ stand, there was the opportunity for intensive discussions with top athletes and high-ranking sports officials. These honored Austria’s church athletes for their commitment to athletes with disabilities as well as for fairness, justice and respect, said Eppensteiner and Frank.
Austria’s top church athletes particularly liked one gesture: more than 400 sports stars were honored for their achievements, and tree sponsorships were awarded instead of trophies. In Upper Austria, almost 1,500 trees have already been planted in this way as part of an environmental project.
Austria’s “sports bishop” Alois Schwarz also praised the event in advance, which might motivate more exercise and bring movement into the encounter between church and sport.
Photo: From left: Pepi Frank (DSG), Lukas Mahr and Laura Vadlau Olympic sailing champion in Paris 2024, Sepp Eppensteiner.
