Victoria Klotz (center of picture) won double gold at the U18 Italian Championships in Alpine skiing.

A winter sports week of superlatives

South Tyrol has a new Junior World Champion. Tommy Rabanser from Val Gardena snatched the gold medal in the parallel slalom in Folgaria on Sunday. He had already impressed on Saturday, winning bronze in the parallel giant slalom. Other South Tyrolean snowboarders also made their mark, as did the biathletes at the Italian Championships in Martell and the cross-country skiers at the national championships in Aosta. A recap of the past week in winter sports.

March 30, 2026

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At the 2025 Junior World Championships in Zakopane, Poland, Tommy Rabanser had to settle for two silver medals behind Bulgarian Tervel Zamfirov. Now, the Val Gardena native has achieved gold: On Sunday, Rabanser crowned himself the new Junior World Champion in the parallel slalom. In the final, he defeated American Walker Overtake to claim the coveted title. Two other South Tyrolean athletes, Manuel Haller (Burgstall, 5th) and regional team member Tobias Mutschlechner (St. Vigil, 7th), also advanced to the quarterfinals.

Rabanser had already shown strong form on Saturday, winning his first medal at the Junior World Championships in Folgaria with a bronze in the parallel giant slalom. He defeated Czech Krystof Minarik in the small final. In this discipline, both Haller, who finished sixth, and Mutschlechner, who came in eighth, reached the quarterfinals. Kevin Crazzolara finished 12th. For the South Tyrolean women, Anna Victoria Mammone almost won her first Junior World Championship medal, but she lost the small final in the parallel slalom to Germany's Zoe Jansing. The Welschnofen native had already impressed with a seventh-place finish in the parallel giant slalom. The snowboarders will be competing in the Italian Championships in Carezza in the coming days.

Strong South Tyrolean biathletes in Martell

The Italian Biathlon Championships took place in Martell over the weekend. While Lisa Vittozzi (sprint), Didier Bionaz (sprint), Samuela Comola (mass start), and Lukas Hofer (mass start) took the titles in the senior category, South Tyrol's up-and-coming biathletes shone brightly. The mixed relay was on the program for the U21 to U17 categories on Saturday. In the U21 category, the quartet of Eva Hutter, Tanja Wanker, Adam Ferdick, and Hannes Bacher finished in third place. In the U19 category, two South Tyrolean relay teams secured the top two spots. Thea Wanker, Nina Nocker, Aaron Niederstätter, and Andreas Braunhofer became the new Italian champions, while Patrizia La Marchina, Lena Sofie Haller, Jonas Tscholl, and Julian Huber finished second. And in the U17 category, a South Tyrolean team also landed on the podium: Sara Eisath, Elsa Canins, Elia Steinkasserer and Felix Wolf took second place.

On Sunday, the mass starts continued in Martell. South Tyrol's young biathletes once again impressed. In the U21 category, Eva Hutter finished second. In the U19 category, Jonas Tscholl was crowned the new Italian champion. Julian Huber came in second, and Jan Steinkasserer finished fifth. In the women's U17 category, Verena Pallua took third place and Elsa Canins sixth.

Cross-country skiing: Strong Schwitzer sisters and a special farewell

The Italian Championships were also on the schedule for cross-country skiers this past weekend. They took place in Saint Barthelemy in the Aosta Valley. On Friday, the individual skating races were held to determine the titles. In the U16 category, where the competition counted towards the Italian Cup, Magda Moser took first place and Sara Zanaboni third. In the men's competition, Paolo Pietroboni secured third place. In the U20 category, three athletes competing for South Tyrolean clubs won medals. Marie Schwitzer from Sarnen finished second and Marta Bellotti third in the women's race. Luca Pietroboni also won a bronze medal in the men's race.

On Saturday, the mass start in the classic technique continued. The Schwitzer sisters each won a medal. Emma Schwitzer won in the U18 category, while Marie took silver in the U20. In the U16 category, Anne Kuppelwieser and Paolo Pietroboni both finished fourth. The relay races took place on Sunday, concluding the event. The U20 team of Emma Schwitzer, Marta Bellotti, and Marie Schwitzer emerged victorious. At the end of the Italian Championships, a figure of immense importance to South Tyrolean cross-country skiing was also bid farewell: After what seemed like an eternity as the cross-country skiing coordinator for FISI South Tyrol, Veit Angerer retired.

Victoria Klotz wins double gold at the Italian U18 Championships

From Monday to Saturday, the Italian U18 Alpine Skiing Championships took place in Alleghe. South Tyrol's skiers showcased their best form. In the women's Super-G on Wednesday, Arianna Putzer (Val Gardena) won in 54,32 seconds. The following day, the women's slalom was on the program, and this time three South Tyrolean skiers stood on the podium. Victoria Klotz (Bolzano) was crowned the new Italian U18 champion, ahead of Putzer and Alenah Taschler (Gsies). Klotz also took the title in the giant slalom on Friday. Putzer finished third this time, and Taschler fourth. The older athletes of the women's regional team competed in FIS races in Cermis, where Hanna Bachmann from Tramin impressed with two slalom victories in the U21 category.

Raiffeisen Slopestyle Tour Final on the Seiser Alm

The season finale was also on the agenda for the freestyle skiers last weekend. Nearly 50 freeskiers participated in the final leg of the Raiffeisen South Tyrol Slopestyle Tour, which took place on the Seiser Alm and was organized by ASC Gröden. In the slopestyle competition, Theo Oberstaller (Vitamin-F) won in the "Pulcini" category, while Maya Recla (Vitamin-F) triumphed in the "Children" category. Fritz Iurino from Ritten Sport won in the "Ragazzi" category, and Sebastian Hofer from ASV Burgstall and Nina Mairhofer (Vitamin-F) were crowned the winners in the "Allievi" category. The victory in the oldest age group, however, went to regional team athlete Alex Putzer from SC Gröden.