In Austria's ski scene: This resignation is heating up people's minds

Things couldn't have gone better for Mathias Graf. A year ago, the Vorarlberg native decided to switch from alpine skiing (where he completed 12 World Cup races) to ski crossers. There, the 26-year-old immediately had a very strong season: in the European Cup, the second most important racing series, Graf dominated at will, making it to the podium in nine races, eight of which were at the top. In doing so, he secured victory in the overall ranking and at the same time grabbed a fixed ticket for the upcoming World Cup. But nothing will come of it: the Austrian recently announced the end of his career.

“It’s just not financially viable for me anymore,” the count, who comes from Dornbirn, told the newspaper Krone . In plain language: The ski crosser suffered financial losses after leaving the Alpine team. That's why he applied for one of the highly sought-after training positions as a top police athlete, comparable to the sports groups in Italy. This would have given him great financial support with which he could have continued his career. However, Graf received a rejection and therefore no longer saw himself continuing to pursue competitive sports. “If it doesn’t work out, it’s been clear to me for a long time that I’ll quit.”

<a data-caption="Im Jänner 2019 holte Graf in Kitzbühel Platz 18 und somit sein bestes Weltcupergebnis. Im Sommer 2021 wechselte er zu den Skicrossern. © APA / EXPA/JOHANN GRODER" data-fancybox="inline-120239" target="_image" href="https://s3-images.sportnews.bz/_images/scale/1280x1280/img/2022/07/im-jaenner-2019-holte-graf-in-kitzbuehel-platz-18-und-somit-sein-bestes-weltcupergebnis-im-sommer-2021-wechselte-er-zu-den-skicrossern.jpg"> In January 2019, Graf took 18th place in Kitzbühel, his best World Cup result. In the summer of 2021 he switched to ski crossers. © APA / EXPA/JOHANN GRODER

This is bad news for the Austrian ski crossers, because Graf could have been a hot medal candidate for the 2026 Olympic Games. “The decision is a catastrophe for us. Unfortunately, as an association we have no influence on decisions made by the Ministry of the Interior,” says Markus Gutenbrunner, the ÖSV ski cross manager, who now wants to do everything he can to change Graf’s mind. Mixed reactions Reinfried Herbst, who is responsible for police athletes as top sports coordinator in the Ministry of the Interior, explained this to the Crown: “Mathias is on a great path, but we had so many applicants who had already celebrated great sporting successes at a higher level.” Graf's long-time companion Max Jagg, on the other hand, said: “He is not a middle-class runner and should not be treated like that. On the other hand, he could have tried it for another year. His resignation is definitely a blow for the entire Austrian ski cross sport.”

And Count himself? He now wants to do “normal” training with the police so that he can start his third career after his ski and ski cross career.

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In Austria's ski scene: This resignation is heating up people's minds

With the current temperatures, winter seems very, very, very far away. And yet skiing is omnipresent even in midsummer. This time because of a resignation that is stirring up anger.

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