2024-09-21 19:54:48
On Saturday, the Ministry of Sport flexed its muscles together with the local sports associations on Sports Day and delighted more than 200,000 sports fans when it returned to Vienna’s Heldenplatz. Movement and encounters, including a large number of stars, were the order of the day at the 23rd edition of Austria’s largest open-air sporting event. The enthusiasm was also passed on to the sports stars, more than 400 of whom were honored for their achievements.
What a comeback! For the first time since 2015, Sports Day took place at Heldenplatz, which was transformed into a place for sports heroes in perfect conditions. In bright sunshine and late summer temperatures of around 24 degrees, thousands of people flocked to Heldenplatz to celebrate Austria’s largest sports festival in the heart of Vienna.
“I think it’s really great that we’re back at Heldenplatz. It’s also important that we offer sport such a big stage. Because the top athletes and their successes at the Olympic and Paralympic Games, World and European Championships serve as role models and that has an impact on grassroots sport. And both should be reflected on Sports Day. It’s something like our flagship,” explained Vice Chancellor and Sports Minister Werner Kogler.
Tennis superstar Dominic Thiem, who will be serving for the last time at the upcoming Erste Bank Open and will therefore also be attending the Sports Day for the last time as an active athlete, was also enthusiastic. “It’s sensational how many people have come today to celebrate sport. That is extremely valuable. It’s even a little more special at Heldenplatz. I’m very happy to have been here.”
FESTIVAL LINEUP OF SPORTS STARS
But Thiem was by no means the only sports star that the numerous fans got to see up close. More than 400 local sports greats – including the newly crowned Olympic champions Lara Vadlau, Lukas Mähr and Valentin Bontus as well as javelin European champion Victoria Hudson, judoka Michaela Polleres, climbing ace Jessica Pilz, Nordic combined athlete Johannes Lamparter, the newly crowned double rowing world champion Magdalena Lobnig, skiing legend Benjamin Raich and many more – were available for selfies, autographs and conversations.
Swimmer Heiko Gigler caused a laugh on the main stage when he was happy to see Valentin Bontus again: “I carried him on my shoulders at his medal ceremony in the Austria House, but I still have to get my revenge for that. I hope we can have a beer together today,” said the Carinthian.
But something else was also donated on Sports Day. Instead of trophies, the Ministry of Sport again sponsored trees for all honored athletes. As part of the “Treebuddy” environmental project, the Athletes’ Forest has been created in Upper Austria since 2021, which literally “grows” with the successes of the local stars and now has almost 1,500 trees.
For the second time, the Volunteering Award was presented in the categories of young officials, equality, sustainability, inclusion, integration and life’s work by Vice Chancellor and Minister of Sport Werner Kogler together with Sport Austria President Hans Niessl, table tennis ace Liu Jia and Paralympics legend Walter Ablinger as part of Sports Day. “With this award, we would like to thank those people who, with their voluntary work, help to keep our society moving,” said Kogler, about the prize, which is worth 50,000 euros. In addition to the prize money, the first-place clubs will each receive 2,500 euros for a club party.
Afterwards, the Republic’s Medal of Honor was awarded to 20 particularly successful athletes for the period 2018 to 2023, thus reviving a sports tradition that had been thought to be forgotten. Among the award winners: Olympic ski jumping champion Jan Hörl, para-swimmer Andreas Ernhofer and bobsledder Benny Maier.
WORLD RECORD BROKEN
Another of the many highlights at Heldenplatz was Daniel Krobath’s world record attempt. The calisthenics ace wanted to break the world record for the most push-ups in an hour – and he actually managed it. Krobath smashed the old record (2,245) by 158 and ended up with 2,403. This means that the Carinthian is guaranteed an entry in the “Guinness World Records Book”.
“It was a good day, maybe not the perfect one, since I was actually aiming for 2,500. But of course it’s cool that I broke the world record. Thank you for all the cheering and support,” said Krobath, delighted with his historic performance, for which he was enthusiastically celebrated by the fans.
PREMIERE OF A NEW SPORT
Baseball5, the street version of the US classic, which was presented for the first time in Austria on Sports Day, also caused great excitement. The Austrian Baseball Federation used the Heldenplatz stage for a top-class show match, with baseball stars from the national team – such as European champion Jan Raunigger and Japanese legionnaire Alexander Resel – and stars from other sports.
3×3 basketball player Matthias Linortner, Superliga MVP Lisa Zderadicka (basketball), 118-time national player Sonja Frey (handball), EWHL record player Charlotte Wittich (ice hockey) and two-time Olympic participant David Hussel (sailing) also tried out the new trend sport on the pop-up court under the castle gate. They were all enthusiastic about the short and action-packed version of baseball and softball, which does not require bats or gloves, is suitable for young and old alike and can be played on any surface.
“Baseball without a bat sounds strange, but it makes sense because the barrier to entry is very low for everyone. It was a cool experience to get to know the sport,” Wittich enthused.
FOREWORD OF MAJOR EVENTS TO COME
The Day of Sport not only served as the starting signal for the European Week of Sport (23 to 30 September 2024), but was also a harbinger of the coming months, where one major event on home soil follows the next.
Red-white-red sports fans can look forward to three major events in Austria in the coming months: the European Table Tennis Championships (15 – 20 October), the European Handball Championships (28 November – 15 December) and the Ski World Championships (16 – 24 March 2025).
These three major events were also in the spotlight on Sports Day, as visitors to the big sports festival on Heldenplatz had the chance to win high-quality VIP packages. There were also numerous sports vouchers, signed jerseys, sporty goodie bags and much more up for grabs.
Anyone who couldn’t be there live or wants to relive the day can do so online. As usual, the entire Sports Day was broadcast live in three streams – main stage, Hall of Fame and studio – on www.sportpassaustria.at. All interviews from the Sports Studio Day with top-class guests from sports, politics and business are available online to watch and enjoy.
More stories, pictures and videos from the 23rd Day of Sports can be found at www.tagdessports.at.
1726963672
#Sports #Day #Successful #comeback #Heldenplatz #sun #stars #lots #sport
