The gold duo: Laura Runggatscher and Tamás Kiss (from left).

At European Championship premiere: South Tyrolean grabs gold

The European Championship in Apatin in Serbia, the first ever in bowling, is a complete success for South Tyrol's team. Last week, Laura Runggatscher and Tamás Kiss won gold in the mixed team.

10. February 2025

From: fs/dolo

The performance of the two exceptional talents in Apatin was simply outstanding. Runggatscher, who plays for the Fugger Sterzing and holds the Italian record (661 pins), knocked down 616 pins and was thus the second best in the women's field; only the Croatian Natasa Ravnic knocked down more pins (636 pins).

For Tamás Kiss, it was the first time he stepped onto the lane for Italy. The bowler from KK Neumarkt has always competed for his home country Hungary at the past World Championships, but has had Italian citizenship for just over a year. And he showed his skills with a very strong 674 pins, which also secured him second place in the men's category; only the Austrian Philipp Vsetecka (2 pins) was better.

The two second best performances then resulted in gold. In the mixed team, the pins thrown are added together. Runggatscher and Kiss managed 2 pins, which is 1290 more than the Slovenian duo Brigitte Strelec and Matej Lepej (25 pins), who took silver. Bronze went to the Croatians Ravnic and Nikola Muse (1265 pins).

European Championship ends with two silver medals

The European Championship in Apatin ended for Italy at the weekend with two silver medals. After the gold medal in the mixed team of Laura Runggatscher and Tamás Kiss, Kiss reached the final in the singles. There the Italo-Hungarian, who lives in Tramin and bowls near Neumarkt, met the Croatian Hrvoje Marinovic. But then Kiss' winning streak ended: in a very exciting final, both won two set points.

Coach Bernhard Geisler (left) with silver winner Tamás Kiss.

While Kiss managed 630 pins, Marinovic knocked down 647 pins and thus became the first European champion - the tournament in Apatin in Serbia was the first bowling European Championship. Another player from KK Neumarkt, Slovakian Erik Kuna, took bronze.

Italy also won silver in the general class in the national rankings. In terms of the total results, only the Czech Republic was better than the South Tyrolean delegation. In the women's category, Laura Runggatscher made it to the quarter-finals. Armin Egger was eliminated in the first round. In the sprint, both Runggatscher and Vera Rabanser made it to the quarter-finals, as did Kiss in the men's category. Egger was eliminated in the second round. In the U1 category, Daniel Prinoth, Julian Piazzi and Silvia Gaiser were all eliminated in the first round.