Susanne Gogl-Walli showed a brilliant performance. © APA / GEORG HOCHMUTH

A half-Val Gardena woman causes a sensation in Paris

The Olympic Games in Paris are over for the South Tyrolean athletes - with the exception of Simone Giannelli. However, an athlete who competes for Austria and has roots in Val Gardena is causing a huge stir in athletics.

August 06, 2024

From: Leo/dpa

Susanne Gogl-Walli was born in Linz. The 28-year-old's mother is Gertraud Malsiner from Val Gardena. She must have been very happy on Monday because her daughter showed a fantastic performance. Gogl-Walli finished the 400 meters in a time of 50,67 seconds. The Austrian had never been so fast before. This sensational time meant direct advancement to the semi-finals. This will take place on Wednesday.

For the sixth-place finisher at the indoor world championships and seventh-place finisher at the outdoor European championships this year, it is the second semi-final under the sign of the Five Rings after Tokyo (20th). "I am just super happy and proud of the performance. That was what we dreamed of. That is the time when everything works out. Everything came together," said Gogl-Walli. Karoline Käfer's Austrian record has stood at 1977 since 50,62, Gogl-Walli's best so far was 50,87 (2023). "Now it's not far away, it's within reach. But first and foremost, I'm just extremely proud that I managed to get direct promotion. I knew it would be hard-fought."

Gogl-Walli wants more

In the preliminary round, she briefly considered on the home straight whether she had the strength to attack the Irishwoman Sharlene Mawdsley or whether she should save her for the repechage. "I said no, I'll just try it. I really wanted to be in the top three and avoid that tomorrow." Once again, she was able to rely on her strong home straight. "But I wasn't sure over the finish line, it was very close." 4/100 of a second decided the Austrian. Overall, it was the 16th fastest time.

Happy: Susanne Gogl-Walli © APA / GEORG HOCHMUTH

In the semifinals she will try again to challenge the Austrian record. "I'm trying to get the most out of it. We assume that you will have to run under 50 for the final. Never say never, but I'm happy to confirm the time again. It would be very good to improve on 20th place in Tokyo. The level is higher than three years ago."