The atmosphere on Danube Island was filled with excitement and pride as an impressive gathering of ski legends and emerging talents gathered on the VIP stand of the Red Bull Beach Arena last thursday, August 3.
With a total of 69 Nordic World Championship medals, 17 Olympic medals and nine overall World Cup wins in their impressive careers, the athletes not only impressed fans, but also highlighted the success story of Austrian sports at the A1 CEV EuroBeachVolley Vienna 2023.
The event offered a rare opportunity to get up close and personal against some of these heroes of Austrian skiing history at Volksbank's " Jump & Win" booth in the Beach Village. Among the ski heroes were Stefan Kraft, the current world record holder with an incredible jump of 253.5 meters and 13 world championship medals, and the three-time Olympic champion Thomas Morgenstern.
Among those present were also sporting director Mario Stecher, Ernst Vettori, Andi Goldberger, who with three overall World Cup victories is one of the true greats of the sport, as well as other prominent names such as Martin Koch, Manuel Fettner, Michael Hayböck and Daniel Tschofenig. On the women's side, Eva Pinkelnig, the current overall women's World Cup winner in 2022/23, as well as Chiara Kreuzer, Sara Marita Kramer and Jacqueline Seifriedsberger were present.
The court announcer at the A1 CEV Beach Volleyball European Championships added a special touch to the atmosphere of the event with skillful presentation of this information. The list of those present highlighted not only the rich success but also the impressive personalities in Austrian skiing.
