The crème de la crème trusts this sports theologian

Jörg Walcher is a former snowboard professional from Schladming/Austria and an extremely interesting personality. He is an author, qualified sports mental trainer and has a Master of Arts in Global Leadership and completed a theology degree. After his active career as an athlete, he found his own approach to sport and founded the institution Beyond Gold.

Together with his life partner Jacqueline Schneider, a former world-class diver from Switzerland, Walcher looks after and accompanies top athletes during and after their active careers. Not in the form of a manager - no, he provides emotional support in German, English, Italian, French, Spanish or Russian.

Jörg Walcher is a kind of “sports priest” and is the official of the Austrian winter sports association ÖSV and the American biathlon team. Among other things, he works with top athletes from all over the world and from all sports. In addition to international stars, such as the two-time Olympic long jump champion Christian Taylor from the USA, the ski racers Sofia Goggia, Matthias Mayer and Marlies Raich, the South Tyrolean athletes Christof Innerhofer, Manfred Mölgg, Aaron Kostner and Samuel Costa are also represented. The latter maintains a particularly close relationship with the mental trainer and is accompanied by him at several training camps.

Walcher at the church service with the Austrian national ski jumping team.

Top athletes are exposed to constant pressure to perform throughout their careers; the mental pressure of having to win is often so high that it breaks an athlete. “The vision of Beyond Gold is to look behind the facade of a successful athlete and to accept his emotional and spiritual needs so that the person behind the public figure can lead a fulfilling, healthy and valuable life,” says Walcher. During stress, defeats, grief and hardship, he offers his athletes a trustworthy counterpart who addresses their needs, worries and fears.

Jörg Walcher's care package includes joint athletes' devotions, where prayer and singing take place, individual discussions are held in a place of peace in which athletes come to their senses and are supposed to take the burden off their shoulders - everything is subject to confidentiality. Before a World Cup, athletes and their family members seek God's blessing at one of Walcher's devotions so that they can have a supporting hand over their heads in difficult situations, get down safely or be able to deliver their best performance. For this purpose, Walcher has published its own winter sports bible in which athletes can apply the biblical verses to their own situation and draw strength from them.

Spiritual meeting with the Italian national ski team.

Walcher's work is summarized in the term Sports Chaplain, which originated in 1972. After the bomb attack on the Israeli Olympic delegation in Munich, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) determined that there was a need for comprehensive support for athletes their sporting activity. Since then, the IOC has stipulated that an international “chaplain team” must be present at such a major event. Over the last 17 years, Walcher and his institution have been on site at more than 100 major events, such as the Olympic Games and World Championships.

For several years he has also maintained close contact with a few South Tyrolean athletes, especially Samuel Costa and Aaron Kostner. The two combined athletes from Val Gardena trust Walcher as a mental coach and swear by his spiritual support. Last spring, the two of them spent a week in Switzerland with Walcher and other athletes to gain the mental polish for future tasks. Also present in the camp was Australian high jumper Nicola McDermott, who shortly afterwards was surprisingly crowned silver medalist at Tokyo 2020 thanks to her personal best performance. Since then, she has been giving lectures on faith and sport alongside Walcher.

From left Aaron Kostner, wife Jacqueline Schneider, Samuel Costa, Jörg Walcher and high jumper Nicola McDermott.

The 2014 Olympic bronze medalist in Super-G, Jan Hudec, says: “When I stand in the starting house and look down at the Streif, it's a bit scary and actually crazy. There is always a certain risk of injury. Faith plays a central role for me, I can give up my fears to God and race freely.” Numerous top stars are deeply religious, such as Novak Djokovic. As in normal life, faith gives many athletes support and security; the typical sign of the cross before or after the race is a sign and a kind of ritual.

So can faith provide additional strength and lead to success? Jörg Walcher thinks yes! The answer to this question is up to each athlete, but for some it seems to work.

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The crème de la crème trusts this sports theologian

With God's help to achieve top performance in sport. When the pressure becomes too much, Pastor Jörg Walcher is there to provide spiritual support to the athletes. Numerous world-class athletes seek faith as a means to achieve their goals.

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