Cross-country skiing legend Dario Cologna (l.) awarded the winners of the Raffeisen Cup in Casies.

Biathlon, cross-country skiing, freestyle & Co.: South Tyrol's talents shine

Whether in Nordic combined, ski jumping, biathlon, cross-country skiing, luge on the artificial track or freestylers: the local young athletes also delivered top performances last weekend at local, national and even international level.

20. February 2024

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For example, the Nordic combined athletes and ski jumpers from the state squad can look back on a very successful weekend. The Italian champions were crowned in Predazzo and the South Tyroleans were at the forefront. Leonie Runggaldier (Gröden) won the Nordic combined title in the U16 category and came second in the special jump. Her teammate Min Iorio did exactly the opposite: He is the U16 Italian champion in ski jumping and runner-up in Nordic combined.

A stage of the Coppa Italia was also held in the Trentino mecca of Nordic skiing. Here Leonie Runggaldier won in ski jumping and came second in the Nordic combined – immediately ahead of her teammate Anna Oberhofer. Runggaldier also won the overall ranking in the U16 Nordic Combined. Min Iorio also won in the ski jumping and came third in the Nordic combined, which gave him second place in the overall Nordic combined rankings.

Min Iorio won in Fiemme Valley.

At international level, the Senoner siblings were impressive in Nordic combined. Manuel Senoner came third in the first of two competitions at the Alpine Cup in Harrachov (Czech Republic), while Anna Senoner's best result was sixth place.

Cross-country skiers at the forefront of the Italian Cup

With some strong performances, South Tyrol's top cross-country skiers made people sit up and take notice at the Italian Cup, which took place at the weekend in Toblach and at the Gsieser Volkskreuzlauf. An individual race over 10 km in free technique was held in Toblach. Here Marie Schwitzer from Sarnen provided a highlight, winning the U18 age group. Marta Belotti (4th) and Livia Kargruber (8th) also made it into the top ten. Luca Pietroboni was able to celebrate fifth place among the boys of the same age. In the U20 category, Marit Folie took second place, while Romina Bachmann finished the race in 9th place. In the men's category, Riccardo Foradori came fourth (U18), while Giacomo Petrini triumphed in the U23 category.

Marie Schwitzer and Marit Folie shone in the Italian Cup.

Several top results were also seen in Gsies, where the classic technique (30 and 42 km) and the mass start were used. There was a double victory in the U18 young women's category with Marie Schwitzer and runner-up Marta Belotti. In the U20 age group, Marit Folie took second place and Luca Pietroboni came sixth among the young men in this category, while Sara Hutter and Giacomo Petrini were victorious in the U23 age group.

A stage of the Raiffeisen Cross-Country Cup was also held as part of the “Gsieser”. The participating talents were amazed when four-time Olympic champion Dario Cologna presented them with the prizes at the award ceremony. These are the winners of the junior categories:
U8: Leo Weissensteiner (Deutschnofen/2.47,5) and Emma Kostner (Toblach/2.49,9)
U10: Luis Kostner (Toblach/9.22,3) and Annika Gufler (LV Kronspur/9.34,5)
U12: Noe Moser (Sarntal/8.14,1) and Anna Profanter (Seiser Alm/8.04,0)
U14: Matteo Domenico Senoner (Gröden/14.09,0) and Magda Moser (Sarntal/15.08,1)
U16: Noah Heinrich Senoner (Gröden/13.05,4) and Anna Sagmeister (Sesvenna/15.18,5)
U18: Moritz Mitterer (Latsch/16.14,4) and Gracen Stuart Kennedy (Toblach/14.20,8)

Freestylers scrape past the podium

The freestylers were in action in Innsbruck and Davos last week. At the Innsbruck Rookie Fest, which is part of the World Rookie Tour, Simon Cardini from Toblach achieved fourth place as the best South Tyrolean in slopestyle. With Andi Engl (Bruneck/7th) and Elia Hofer (Ahrntal/10th), two state squad athletes made it into the top ten, while Liam Gamper took 12th place overall and took fourth place in the U15 age group.

In Davos, however, the European Cup continued with a Big Air event. Here Maria Gasslitter (Castelrotto) narrowly missed the podium in fourth place. As the best South Tyrolean, Valentin Auer from Ahrntal – a former state team athlete – took 15th place, while Laurin Volgger (Terenten) finished 37th.

The Junior World Biathlon Championships will take place in Otepää, Estonia, from February 23rd to March 2nd. Linda Zingerle (Antholz), Christoph Pircher (Terlan) and Felix Ratschiller (Martell) will be at the start from South Tyrol.

However, the young South Tyrolean biathletes made people sit up and take notice with their strong performances at the Italian Cup in Forni Avoltri. In the U17 age group (Aspiranti), Marteller Jonas Tscholl was able to prevail in both the mass start and the pursuit. In the pursuit, another state squad athlete, Julian Huber from Antholz, made it onto the podium. Among young women of the same age, Tanja Wanker from Val Gardena came third in both competitions.

Lugers win bronze at FIL Youth Games

At the FIL Youth Games in Bludenz, an artificial track luger from the B squad of the South Tyrolean state team made it onto the podium. Eleonora Petritsch from Val Gardena took third place behind the Austrians Carolina Koren and Johanna Eigentler.