These are Austria's Competitors at the Athletics World Championships 2025
Austria's largest team at World Athletics Championships since Athens 1997 (13), consisting of ten athletes, aims to compete at the world championships in Tokyo starting Sunday. The mega event with 2,203 participants will be opened in the National Stadium on Saturday, with the majority of the 49 medal decisions taking place at Austrian lunchtime and early afternoon, including the pole vault with superstar and world record chaser Armand Duplantis (Monday/12:49 PM CEST).
Austria with Ten Representatives at World Athletics Championships
Heat, which has already led to initial postponements, high humidity, and downpours are expected for the nine competition days. For the ÖLV, the women include Susanne Gogl-Walli (400 m), Caroline Bredlinger (800 m), Julia Mayer (Marathon), Karin Strametz (100 m hurdles), and javelin throw European champion Victoria Hudson, while the men include Raphael Pallitsch (1,500 m), Aaron Gruen (Marathon), Enzo Diessl (110 m hurdles), Endiorass Kingley (triple jump), and flagship Lukas Weißhaidinger (discus throw).
"When you look at the team size, you can see the direction the federation is moving. We have great role models with Vicky and Luki and are very well represented. Having a team with ten great athletes is very exciting," said former triple jump superstar Christian Taylor, who, along with former hurdler and wife Beate Taylor, has been responsible for the sports management in the Austrian federation since this year. They would of course be happy to "come home with a medal," Beate Taylor explained. "On paper, a lot is always possible, and some final participations are certainly within reach."
Since 2019, the ÖLV has insured medals at the Olympics and World Championships - 75,000 euros for gold, 40,000 for silver, and 25,000 for bronze. It also pays bonuses for athletes and coaches up to 16th place - a world championship title would bring in 10,000 euros. The official prize money from World Athletics for medal winners is set at 70,000/35,000/22,000 US dollars (70,000 dollars is just under 60,000 euros), with a total of 8.5 million US dollars (7.3 million euros) being distributed.
Full House in Tokyo
Unlike the 2021 Olympic Games, when Corona led to empty stadiums and restricted movement, the arena will be full for the 24 women's and men's decisions as well as the mixed 4 x 400 m event. In addition to adjustments in the schedule and the advancement rules in technical events, the biggest change is that only women who have undergone an SRY gene test to determine biological sex and received a female result are allowed to compete. The test replaces the testosterone level as the previously used criterion.
Hudson has already traveled to Japan. She has a week to acclimatize before she competes in her qualification next Friday. "All the work is already done. It's really just a matter of counting down the days until it finally starts. I actually feel very good. In the last week, you can't really pull off anything special with a specific training," she told APA. A lot of training has been done, and it's time to give oneself some rest.
Weißhaidinger, who won the bronze medal at the 2021 Summer Games in Tokyo, celebrating his greatest success to date, is taking a different approach and will fly in just before his first event. The anticipation for the "sports-loving Japanese" is great, as he didn't get to experience them four years ago due to the pandemic. "It's going to be a really cool experience. For me, it's very important that I can experience Japan for a few days afterward." A small tour is planned, and there is certainly room in the bag for shiny excess baggage.
(APA/Red)
This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.