Versatile talent: Lana's all-around future is blooming

19 year old, cheerful and versatile. All-rounder Linda Maria Pircher from Burgstall achieved third place in the heptathlon at the Italian Championships with a new record. She is trained by Gertrud Bacher (and her ex-coach and current husband Karl Schöpf), who was herself a first-class heptathlete and achieved an incredible 6185 points.

Pircher is a talented young woman. Last year she passed the Matura with 100 points. She has been fascinated by athletics for several years. “I can really develop in the all-around competition. There is always variety in training. Doing nothing is simply not my thing,” explains the computer science student at the University of Bolzano. She even works in her parents' business and can organize everything without any problems.

100-point high school diploma and an excellent all-rounder: Linda Pircher.

Pircher trains five times a week for several hours per session at the sports field in Lana, even in winter when the temperatures are anything but pleasant. As already mentioned, she reaped the rewards in the title fights in Rovereto. Linda unpacked her fighting heart several times. Especially over the final 800 meters. She rushed to the finish, sustained abrasions and was able to celebrate third place with her best performance of 5119 points. The fourth place was only one point behind her. Linda is a role model for the brothers She received support on site from her parents, who, like her brothers Daniel (18/himself a promising athlete) and Elias (13), are proud of Linda. Rightly so: well-educated at 19, full of joy for life, a great athlete, already working and also a computer science student. Almost nothing more is possible. Someone else says that young people have no goals. The expert and motivated coaching team Bacher/Schöpf has been at Linda's side since she was in high school. They get along brilliantly and everyone puts their whole heart into it.

Simon Zandarco also grew up at the Lana sports field. The 23-year-old from Gargazon impressed with second place in the decathlon at the Italian Championships - achieving a new personal best with 6712 points.

Zandarco has been studying physics in Munich for four years. He lives there in a shared apartment with other South Tyrolean students and earns his living as a teacher (mathematics). “Of course there’s training to do. I am in constant contact with my trainer Gerti. She writes me the training programs, I send a video every now and then and we exchange ideas,” says Zandarco. He also played soccer as a child, but “that wasn’t really my thing.” Also because Simon was rather short back then. At the first athletics competitions, his aim was “just not to come last”. That then changed suddenly. His brother Andreas, who preferred football and even played for FC Südtirol and later in Lana, was completely different. Study, work and sport Studying, sports and teaching easily fill Simon's days in Munich. There's still a little time left to do something with friends. Zandarco sees sport and studies “as an ideal balance. It's a bit strenuous, but it's a perfect mix to keep your head and body going." Everything works with organization.

Simon Zandarco in the shot put.

Since he spent a year of high school in Ireland, he can speak English practically perfectly and doesn't have much difficulty studying “medical physics”. There are a few tests waiting for Simon in July. “I'm in Lana a lot in August and I'm preparing for a competition in Lana at the end of August,” says the 23-year-old. He has set himself the goal of 7000 points. "That's the way it is. And I want to jump two meters high and seven meters,” explains the down-to-earth Gargazon native. He has also improved greatly in the pole vault thanks to the help of Hubert Indra.

Zandarco also has clear ideas when it comes to his professional future. “I would be interested in being active in medical technology, in research. I could make a valuable contribution to society. Later I would like to continue as a teacher. And do the decathlon as long as everything can be organized.” If only there were more versatile and talented athletes like Linda and Simon. That's what the trainer says Trainer Gerti Bacher about Linda and Simon: “Linda is hard-working, determined and always keeps her head on the matter. She rises to the challenge. The 5000 points were a first goal, but she still has a lot of room for improvement. We won't rush anything, we'll look for continuous improvement. We can still work a lot on our speed and at 19 we haven't yet exhausted everything in the strength area." The former world-class heptathlete says of Simon: "He studies, works and trains. He is a relaxed guy and has a positive attitude. His strength lies in his speed, as his 11,00 seconds over 100 meters attest. So he can also benefit from it in the jumps.”

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Versatile talent: Lana's all-around future is blooming

Linda Pircher and Simon Zandarco (both SV Lana) are much more than good all-rounders. They have multiple interests and excel in everything they tackle.

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