State athletics coach Karl Schöpf in an interview

With the GP final and the Italian championships for the U18 and U16 age groups, the highlights of the season are just around the corner. What is the state of South Tyrol's young athletics talent?

Karl Schöpf: We are where we belong. The trend is constant. We represent one percent of the participants in the U18 Italian Championships, and if we win a medal - which is quite realistic - that will also correspond to the share of the population of South Tyrol in Italy. The number of participants at the Grand Prix this year fell slightly compared to last year. However, the school-sports club collaboration works excellently. 70 percent of South Tyrolean participants in school championships are also active in sports clubs. So you can say that the clubs don't let any talent fall through the cracks. Things don't look so rosy everywhere in Italy.

To what extent is the Grand Prix partly responsible for the successes of South Tyrolean young athletes at the national level?

I do think that the Grand Prix will have a positive impact in this regard. Let's take Isabel Tribus here. She is developing well in the steeplechase races because she grew up with hurdles from an early age. Agnes Tschurtschenthaler would certainly have become a good obstacle runner, but she never learned to master the obstacles technically well. We can confidently call Roberta Albertoni, Lisa Seppi and Valentine Alber Grand Prix children. Of the three South Tyrolean medal hopes for the U16 Italian Championships, two are all-around athletes. And let's not forget: Christian Obrist and Hannes Kirchler also developed very versatile skills at a young age.

The U18 Italian Championships will take place in Rieti this weekend. How do you explain the fact that the number of athletes in South Tyrol is very thin?

This is a Europe-wide phenomenon. In our case, the bloodletting between the U16 and U18 age groups is so evident because in absolute numbers we don't have as many athletes as larger regions. There are many reasons for this. Puberty certainly plays a big role. One reason can also be specializing too early. I even wondered whether the Grand Prix was partly to blame. As soon as the young athletes outgrow the U16 age group, they no longer have such competition opportunities. Above all, athletics should be fun at a young age. Some athletes in the U18 also realize that they have only run remotely in Italy and are therefore giving up everything. But those who have patience will be rewarded, as the example of Gertrud Bacher has proven. As an 18-year-old, she was still running.

In the general class, South Tyrol currently has a “Golden Generation”. In 2007 and 2009, four South Tyroleans took part in the World Championships. Is such a generation coming again?

Such a constellation is probably unique. With all due respect to the very competent trainers we have, this was and is also a happy coincidence. That's where everything came together. But we have talent today as we did back then. Why shouldn't an Andreas Zagler later throw the javelin 80 m or a Lisa Seppi, to name just two of them, not reach the top? But it's a long way to get there.

How do you see the development of Italian athletics?

In need of change. I don't mince words about that. Italy mourns the good old days when they were the best in the world in the middle distances. The successes from that time cannot be repeated. This is a utopia. We all know that the successes back then were not only due to outstanding training methods. Fixating yourself on being among the world's best in sprints and middle distances is a very ambitious goal. In the so-called technical disciplines we could easily keep up with continents like Africa. Germany, for example, invests heavily in the training of trainers and uses its technical know-how. The result: They won big in the technical disciplines at the World Championships in Daegu.

With all due respect, South Tyrol missed this development.

That's true, and I have to give myself credit for that as a national coach. In the 80s we already had several good technicians. We need to train coaches to be more versatile. When coaches broaden their horizons, athletes also benefit. I wasn't born as an all-around trainer myself. Gertrud Bacher was not a good 800 m runner at the beginning of her career. But over time she has become the best all-rounder in the world over 800 m.

You have been the national coach for two years now. What is your personal interim balance?

Others should judge my work. I was actually just carrying on the legacy of Bruno Cappello. My credo is a careful structure and a broad basis. I'm just trying to stay true to my line. Where do you want or need to apply the levers in the future?

We have to enable coaches to work with their athletes in their clubs. I want to help the trainers get trained. I would also like to invite guest speakers from Germany, among others. The contacts are there. I want to give the coaches more. I have it in there Need to catch up.

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State athletics coach Karl Schöpf in an interview

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