For the second time this year, 400-meter sprinter Susanne Gogl-Walli (19th) made it into an Olympic semi-final. As the icing on the season’s cake, the Linz native also won the Austrian ancient record on her parade route.
The 28-year-old also started small. More precisely, in the children’s decathlon: In 2011, as a 15-year-old – she was a latecomer – she ran over the lower rubber hurdles in the TipsArena in Linz, tried her hand at ball putting and threw a hard rubber ring – similar to the discus throw. “Those were my first competitions,” says Upper Austria’s athlete of the year, who primarily associates fun with these memories.
And it is precisely this competition format, the children’s decathlon, that will be held for the hundredth time on Sunday in Gmunden. It is organized by the Werthner brothers Roland, Georg and Ulrich, who thought out and implemented the concept in 2000. “We have modified the disciplines for the children,” says Roland Werthner, saying that the classic school triathlon, consisting of the 60-meter sprint, long jump and ball, is too much about “biological advantages.” In her model, on the other hand, the technical aspects of throwing a rocket-shaped vortex ball or pole vaulting, which is learned in a playful way, offer much more playful incentives, says Roland Werthner.
Image: GEPA pictures
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Image: GEPA pictures
Roland Werthner estimates that around 16,000 children took part in the 99 children’s decathlons held practically throughout Austria. At the same time, the competitions, which start with the three-year-olds, were the starting signal and the basis for success for their club TGW Decathlon Union.
“At the beginning we were laughed at for working with small children. Ten years later we were at the top,” says Ulrich Werthner, referring to the club’s more than 600 Austrian championship titles. A lot of it from previous children’s decathlon starters. The boost on the athlete side is now also noticeable in the coaching area. “The new generation of trainers who are now pushing forward come from these children’s decathlons,” says Georg Werthner happily.
Even outside of their club, many future sports aces took their first steps in the children’s decathlon, including World Cup bronze medalist Verena Mayr and Olympic starter Enzo Diessl. “This is a great platform that inspires enthusiasm for athletics,” sums up Susanne Gogl-Walli.
Register for the decathlon in Gmunden (Sunday, from 9 a.m.) at kinder-zehnkampf.at