Olympia-Check of Austria's Key Performers

The Winter Olympics will be spread across the six venues of Milan, Bormio, Livigno, Cortina, Predazzo, and Antholz, which presents a logistical challenge, but does not affect the athletic performances on ice and snow. A total of 116 medals will be awarded in 16 sports. An overview 100 days before the opening ceremony:

Ski Team Expected to Secure Many Medals at the Olympics

Austria's ski team traditionally carries high hopes for medals. There are not countless candidates, but there are contenders in every discipline. Speed ace Vincent Kriechmayr, giant slalom world champion Raphael Haaser, slalom figurehead Manuel Feller, medal collector Marco Schwarz, Sölden winner Julia Scheib, Cornelia Hütter, or Katharina Liensberger are worth mentioning. Liensberger particularly enjoys returning to Italy. In Cortina, she celebrated her greatest success to date with slalom gold at the "Corona World Championships" in 2021.

The ski jumpers enter the Olympic winter with confidence after a highly successful previous season. The team boasts a strong top trio with Daniel Tschofenig, Stefan Kraft, and Jan Hörl. But the second row, including Maximilian Ortner, is also capable of top placements. No longer part of the team is Michael Hayböck, while Daniel Huber is returning from a long injury break. There has been a significant loss among the female ski jumpers. Sara Marita Kramer and Jacqueline Seifriedsberger have ended their careers, and Eva Pinkelnig is out due to a cruciate ligament tear. What remains is a skeleton crew around Lisa Eder and Julia Mühlbacher.

Gasser and Svancer on the Way Back Before the Olympics

The most successful aerial acrobats are returning from injuries. Snowboarder Anna Gasser wants to add another Olympic medal to her two Big Air golds as she concludes her career. After suffering a shoulder dislocation in July and subsequent surgery, she has only been back on snow since mid-October. Freeski overall World Cup winner Matej Svancer is still dealing somewhat with his heel problems. Slopestyle vice world champion Lara Wolf and Lukas Müllauer, the 2023 Big Air vice world champion, also have big ambitions.

Snowboard Olympic champions Benjamin Karl (parallel giant slalom) and Alessandro Hämmerle (cross) want to expand their medal collections. With Jakob Dusek, Austria has a second strong contender in cross, and among the alpine boarders, Andreas Prommegger and Sabine Payer will be among the favorites. Daniela Ulbing, the 2022 Olympic runner-up, ended her career in May.

Luge Team Without Key Athlete Madeleine Egle at the Olympics

In the women's luge, the absence of Madeleine Egle, who is suspended due to missing three doping tests, is significant. However, even without her, Austria has medal contenders. These include world champions Selina Egle/Lara Kipp in the newly Olympic women's doubles and Thomas Steu/Wolfgang Kindl, as well as singles competitors Lisa Schulte, Kindl, Jonas Müller, and the Gleirscher brothers David and Nico. For skeleton pilot Janine Flock, her fourth Winter Games should finally result in her first medal. Katrin Beierl and Markus Treichl, who suffered a meniscus tear in his left knee in mid-January, aim to pilot their bobsleds to top results.

The cross-country skiing team is led by Teresa Stadlober and Mika Vermeulen, who aim to break the Scandinavian dominance. In the Nordic combined, which may be in the Olympic program for the last time, the absence of the retired Jarl Magnus Riiber, the dominator of recent years, increases the chances of success for the Austrians Johannes Lamparter and Stefan Rettenegger significantly. The women, including Lisa Hirner, are still not allowed to participate in the Olympics, but if Hirner gets the chance for an internal qualification in ski jumping, she intends to take it.

Ski Mountaineering Makes Its Olympic Debut

In biathlon, the greatest hopes rest on women Lisa Hauser and Anna Gandler. The 42-year-old Simon Eder and company remain outsiders even in the first year after the departure of superstar Johannes Thingnes Bö. Ski mountaineering will be represented at the Olympics for the first time. Austria can hope for a medal in the mixed event with Paul Verbnjak and Johanna Hiemer. Mogul skiing specialist Avital Carroll aims to win medals as she did at the 2023 World Championships, where she won bronze twice, although last season was affected by injuries. Ski crosser Katrin Ofner only returned to the season in early March after a knee injury.

In speed skating, Vanessa Herzog and Gabriel Odor are eyeing successes. Austria's contribution in figure skating is Olga Mikutina. Qualifying in short track will be difficult, as most of the spots are allocated through the relays in November without Austrian participation. In curling, the men's team will compete in a qualification tournament in Canada in December for one of the last two spots. Both national ice hockey teams failed to qualify.

(APA/Red)

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