Snowboarder Anna Mammone.

South Tyrol has many new Italian youth champions

Although the weather wasn't ideal for sports last weekend, numerous winter sports competitions nevertheless took place in this country. The Italian Youth Biathlon Championships took place in Antholz, where numerous medals were won by local talents. A South Tyrolean also took the crown in freestyle: Nicole Bazzanella won the Italian Slopestyle Championship and the overall Coppa Italia title in Madonna di Campiglio.

March 18, 2025

From: pm

South Tyrol's biathletes performed brilliantly at the Italian Youth Championships in Antholz. Six of them can now claim the title of "Italian Champion" in their future careers. In the sprint competitions, Jonas Tscholl took the title in the "Aspiranti" category, Hannes Bacher followed suit in the "Giovani" category, and Maximilian Leitgeb was unbeatable in the "Juniores" category. Tanja Wanker ("Giovani") and Birgit Schölzhorn ("Juniores") won the women's sprint race. Andreas Braunhofer (2nd place/"Aspiranti") and Denise Planker (2nd place/"Juniores") also climbed onto the podium.

As is well known, after the sprint in biathlon comes the pursuit, and that was no different in Antholz. Here, too, the South Tyroleans delivered strong performances, even if this time "only" two titles remained in the country. Andreas Braunhofer won in the "Aspiranti" category, and Maximilian Leitgeb in the "Juniores" category. Many local ski hunters also climbed onto the podium. In the "Aspiranti" category, state squad athlete Rafael Santer took second place and Julian Huber third; in the "Giovani" category, Hannes Bacher took second place and Simone Motta third. In the "Juniores" category, Felix Ratschiller came in second, just behind Leitgeb. Among the young women, Tanja Wanker took second place in the "Giovani" category, as did Birgit Schölzhorn in the "Juniores" category.

The South Tyrolean biathletes performed brilliantly at the Italian Youth Championships in Antholz.

Meanwhile, the very young biathletes competed in the three-country competition in Finsterau (Bavaria/Germany). A South Tyrolean athlete topped the podium in eight races. Adam Oberhauser (Gröden) won the individual U12 competition, while Franziska Staffler (Ulten) won both the U12 individual and the U12 sprint. Peter Granruaz (Badia) won the U12 sprint, and Lia Rainer (Ridnaun) won the U13 sprint. In the U14 category, Elia Steinkasserer (Antholz) was unbeatable in both the individual and the sprint, as was Lea Hochrainer (Ridnaun) in the U14 individual.

Nicole Bazzanella shines in Madonna di Campiglio

Snowboard freestyler Nicole Bazzanella (South Tyrolean National Team/Alpe di Siusi Ski Team) had a fantastic weekend. Not only did she win the final stage of the Coppa Italia in the Big Air category and take second place in the Slopestyle, but she also crowned herself the overall winner. And to top it all off, she crowned herself the new title holder in the Aspirant category at the Slopestyle Italian Championships.

Freestyler Nicole Bazzanella cheers.

Jan Fulterer (South Tyrolean national team/Alpe di Siusi Ski Team) and Ben Marmsoler (South Tyrolean national team/Alpe di Siusi Ski Team) also achieved strong results. Fulterer finished fourth in Big Air and sixth in Slopestyle in the "Juniores" category, while Marmsoler took sixth place in Big Air in the "Allievi" age group and finished the Coppa Italia season in fourth place in his category.

A Coppa Italia stage also took place for freeskiers in Madonna di Campiglio, although the slopestyle competition was converted into a rail contest due to bad weather. Heidi Pescollderungg (South Tyrolean national team/Vitamin F) won the "Juniores" category, as did Alex Putzer (Vitamin F) in the "Allievi" category, and Lotta Recla (Vitamin F) in the "Pulcini" category. Other South Tyroleans made it onto the podium: Nina Mairhofer ("Juniores"/2nd), Emmi Forer ("Juniores"/3rd), both from Team Vitamin F, as well as Jakob Aichner ("Allievi"/2nd) from ASV Hafling, Peter Von Aufschneiter ("Ragazzi"/3rd) from SC Val Gardena, and Enea Gelmetti ("Pulcini"/3rd) from SC Val Gardena.

Raiffeisen Cross-Country Cup stage in Val Gardena

South Tyrol's cross-country skiing scene was in action this weekend at a stage of the Raiffeisen Cross-Country Cup in Val Gardena. This also counted towards the regional championship, with a distance race being held. The following category winners and, at the same time, the new regional champions were crowned:

U8: Ilaria Rainer (5V Loipe) and Elias Hofer (SC Gröden)
U10: Thea Moser (ASC Sarntal) and Elia Rainer (ASD Antholz)
U12: Elena Kostner (SC Val Gardena) and Noe Moser (ASC Sarntal)
U14: Anna Profatner (Seiser Alm Ski Team) and Tobias Schwingshackl (5V Cross-country ski)
U16: Anne Kuppelwieser (ASV Prad) and Elias Klocker (ASC Toblach)
U18: Marta Bellotti (ASC Sesvenna) and Luca Pietroboni (ASC Sesvenna)
U20: Giada Fachin (ASC Sesvenna) and Ruben Wurzer (5V Loipe)
Seniors: Julia Kuen (Team Futura) and Benjamin Schwingshackl (5V Trail)
Master A: David Hofer (SC Val Gardena)
Master B: Georg Piazza (SC Val Gardena)

The parallel slalom national champions

A total of four FIS races took place in Schnalstal Valley over the weekend. The parallel slaloms on Sunday, March 16, counted toward the national championship, and those on Saturday, March 15, counted toward the Alperia Cup. South Tyrol's athletes performed brilliantly in the first two FIS races: Simon Dorfmann (Villnöß), a member of the national team, climbed to the podium in third place, as Czech skier Ondrej Tulach won, while Anna Mammone, a member of the national team from ASV Welschnofen, even won the women's race, defeating Korean Seo-Yeong Jung in the final.

On the second day of racing, another South Tyrolean, Tommaso Da Col (ASV Welschnofen), made it onto the podium in third place, while the Ukrainian Oleksandr Popadych took the win. Anna Mammone narrowly missed third place, losing the small final to Austrian Franziska Dabringer and finishing fourth. A Ukrainian skier also won this race, with the day's victory going to Iryna Hordiichuk.

The races for the state championship in parallel slalom were particularly exciting. The following category winners emerged, from U9 to seniors:
U9: Nico Ungerer (ASV Burgstall)
U11: Nina Holzknecht (ASV Villnöß) and Rafael Battocletti (ASV Burgstall)
U13: Giorgia Perri (ASV Gherdeina) and Matteo Boglioli (ASV Burgstall)
U15: Natalia Laneve (ASV Gherdeina) and Tobias Mutschlechner (ASV St. Vigil)
Juniors: Anna Mammone (state squad/ASV Welschnofen) and Thomas Fachin (ASV Burgstall)
Seniors: Tommaso Da Col (ASV Welschnofen)


Meanwhile, the finals of the Raiffeisen South Tyrol Cup (alpine skiing) and the regional slalom championships were scheduled to take place in the Gitschberg ski area. However, the races had to be canceled due to weather conditions, as did the Pfiff Toys Children's Cup in Ratschings and several VSS zone races.