Laura Runggatscher's great year

Runggatscher has had a remarkable 2024/25 season. This despite having been playing with a weakened body since the European Championships in February. There, she won the mixed doubles European Championship alongside Tamás Kiss in Apatin, Serbia. Unsurprisingly, she and the Italian-Hungarian from KK Neumarkt also rose to the top of the rankings. Last Friday held another treat for Runggatscher.

She was also present at the Sporthilfe Gala in the Kurhaus in Merano. With 2500 votes, the Villnöss native, who lives in Tramin, came in sixth place. This is a huge success for the fringe sport of bowling, as Runggatscher emphasizes: "Alpine skiing and biathlon are usually the focus of everyone's attention. The fact that a bowler has made it this far is a fantastic thing for the sport. I'm incredibly happy about this recognition. The experience of attending the Sporthilfe Gala was also unique. I was there with my family, family friends, and work colleagues, and I enjoyed the evening. It was also cool to get to know the other athletes better," she says, reflecting on last Friday.

With an average of 597,45 pins, Runggatscher has come close to the 22-pin mark in the 600 matches she has played. And that wasn't even her best form yet: "I've been injured since the European Championships in February. I'm suffering from a strained tendon in my thigh, but I've still been playing. With the injury, I haven't been able to perform at my best, that's for sure. So there's still room for improvement," she says, but immediately adds: "I'm still very satisfied with the season."

Laura Runggatscher and Tamás Kiss with the European Championship gold medal.

Runggatscher comfortably won the championship this year with Fugger Sterzing. While they had a thrilling battle with Villnöß a year earlier, this year they collected 22 points in 42 matches, losing only 12-2 to Kiens on March 4th. However, they suffered a "slap in the face," as Runggatscher explains: "The Italian Cup loss (2-4 in the semifinal against eventual winners Villnöß, editor's note) may have even done us some good. We played better and better after that, becoming almost unbeatable. So this year it wasn't as exciting as last season," Runggatscher reflects.

For Runggatscher herself, the next competition was supposed to be the Team World Championships in Hungary in May. However, she won't be there, as she regretfully says: "I have to recover from this injury and therefore had to withdraw. Of course, that hurts, but there's no other option."

Tamás Kiss replaces Vilmos Zavarko There's a change at the top of the men's scoring list, but it's not surprising. KK Neumarkt player Tamás Kiss, who was third in the scoring list last year, is at the top with 646,20 pins, dethroning his teammate Vilmos Zavarko. Zavarko, however, missed almost the entire season due to injury and only played in the last three games, where he showed with an average of 3 pins that he's on the mend and, should he still play for Neumarkt next season, will be able to get back on the pins game.

Just like Runggatscher, Kiss has had an outstanding season, especially internationally. As already mentioned, the Italo-Hungarian won the European Mixed Team Championship alongside Runggatscher. He also reached the final in the singles at the European Championships in Apatin, where he lost to Croatian Hrvoje Marinovic and returned to his adopted hometown of Tramin with silver.

Kiss also won a surprise bronze medal with KK Neumarkt at the World Cup in Zalaegerszeg (Hungary), knocking down 741 pins in the semifinals, which would be an unofficial world record (the official record is 738, but can only be set at world championships). Kiss also won the Italian Cup and the A1 championship with KK Neumarkt, although they took longer than usual to win the latter this year. This was due not only to Zavarko's injury but also to the strong Fugger Sterzing, who held their own against Neumarkt's starting team for a long time.

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Laura Runggatscher's great year

Since last Friday, at the big Sporthilfe gala in Merano, Laura Runggatscher has been a familiar face in the South Tyrolean sports world. And rightly so!

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