The South Tyrolean athletes impressed at the Junior World Championships for natural track luge. © FISI

South Tyrol's winter sports talents continue their meteoric rise

Local young athletes were hard at work across the country again last weekend in January, delivering outstanding performances.

February 03, 2026

From: pm

An international FIS snowboard race took place in Villnöß on Saturday, where the regional team athletes showcased their skills. Tobias Mutschlechner (St. Vigil in Enneberg) took the victory ahead of Kevin Crazzolara (Abtei), while Thomas Fachin from ASV Burgstall finished sixth. Twenty-four hours later, Mutschlechner and Crazzolara repeated their successes from the previous day, again securing first and second place.

Among the women, former state squad athlete Anna Victoria Mammone (ASV Welschnofen) was the best local athlete, finishing fifth and seventh. The races in Roland Fischnaller's hometown also counted towards the Italian Cup and the Alperia Cup. Sunday's race also served as the state championship.

All state champions at a glance:

U9: Samuel Großrubatscher (Gröden)
U11: Nora Knapp (Villnöß) and Jan Perathoner (Villnöß)
U13: Camilla Ciocca (Villnöß) and Sebastian Delago (Gröden)
U15: Lia Holzknecht (Villnöß) and Matteo Bogliolo (Burgstall)
Juniors: Tobias Mutschlechner (St. Vigil) and Anna Victoria Mammone (Welschnofen)

The biathletes also delivered a convincing performance across the board. © FISI

The biathletes competed in the Italian U13 and U15 Championships with air rifles in Entracque, Piedmont, over the weekend. The local biathletes brought home several medals. In the sprint, Leon Josef De Giuseppe of ASV Martell was delighted to win the bronze medal in the U15 category. Among the young women of the same age, Lia Rainer and Lea Hochrainer of ASV Ridnaun secured a one-two finish. In the U13 category, Peter Granruaz (Alta Badia) won the silver medal, while in the U13 girls' category, two local biathletes also stood on the top two podiums: Dana Lilien Riba (Antholz) took gold, and Franziska Staffler from Ultental secured the silver.

A flood of medals continued on Sunday.

The pursuit race took place on Sunday. De Giuseppe finished third in the U15 boys' category. In the U15 girls' category, all three medals went to South Tyrol: Anna Wolf (Antholz) won ahead of Lea Hochrainer and Maya Wierer, also from ASV Antholz. In the U13 boys' category, Hannes Huber (Antholz) and Adam Oberhauser (Gröden) won gold and silver, respectively, while in the U13 girls' category, all three medals were won by South Tyrolean athletes. Gold went to Riba, silver to Staffler, and bronze to Katharina Senoner from Gröden.

The Italian Championships and Italian Cup were also on the agenda for cross-country skiers this past weekend. They competed in Lama Mocogno in Emilia-Romagna. On Saturday, Marie Schwitzer and Giada Fachin won gold and silver, respectively, in the freestyle sprint. In the U16 category – the race counted towards the Italian Cup – Magda Moser finished third, while Paolo Pietroboni took fourth place among the boys. On Sunday, a distance race in the freestyle technique was held, which also counted towards the Italian Cup. Here, Marie Schwitzer once again emerged victorious in the U20 category. In the U16 girls' race, South Tyrolean skiers Jana Gufler, Magda Moser, and Sara Zanaboni achieved a clean sweep of the podium, while Pietroboni again finished fourth among the boys.

Freestylers gain valuable experience in the European Cup

At the European Freeskiing Cup in Prato Nevoso, the athletes of the South Tyrol regional team all diligently collected points. Alex Putzer finished in 20th place, and Liam Gamper came in 28th. The best result for the local team was achieved by Mattia Mersa, who narrowly missed the podium, finishing fourth. His South Tyrolean teammates from the B national team, Valentin Auer (19th), Max Von Aufschnaiter (22nd), and Elia Baez Locher (25th), also earned points.

The podium in the U16 cross-country skiing category for female skiers.

The snowboarders were also in action. Nicole Bazzanella finished in 13th place, while Marika Frenademetz completed her European Cup debut in 22nd. Jan Fulterer also competed, finishing 48th. Felix Fulterer reached the final for the first time and ultimately finished ninth.

The Raiffeisen Slopestyle Tour for freeskiers and snowboarders stopped at Klausberg. State team athletes Alex Putzer (Junior, Senior Ski) and Marian Brunner (Junior, Senior Snowboard) were delighted with their victories, while Ben Marmsoler (Junior, Senior Snowboard) took second place.

Luge athletes achieve respectable results at the Junior World Championships

South Tyrol's alpine luge athletes made their mark on the Junior World Championships in Umhausen. Among them were athletes from the regional squad. Jakob Gruber Genetti and Alex Castiglioni won the silver medal in the doubles. In the women's singles, Franziska Hofer finished fifth, while in the men's singles, Alexander Staffler narrowly missed the podium, finishing fourth.


The Ultental Valley hosted the third stage of the Raiffeisen Series on Saturday. Despite the fresh snowfall of the previous week, the athletes found a well-prepared toboggan run. A total of 78 young racers took part. In alpine luge, Paula Fink (ASV Latzfons) and Daniel Gamper (ASV Feldthurns) achieved the fastest times of the day. ARC Ultental won the team competition, ahead of Laas Raiffeisen and ASV Latzfons. In sport luge, Teresa Runggatscher (ASV Villnöss) and Stefan Geiser (ASC Laugen Tisens) were unbeatable. The fastest team was Laugen Tisens, followed by ASV Villnöss and ASC Olang.

All winners at a glance:

Alpine tobogganing, Pupil 1: Marie Wegmann (Laas) and Tom Breitenberger (Ulten)
Alpine tobogganing, Pupil 2: Anne Breitenberger (Ulten) and Simon Matzoll (Ulten)
Alpine tobogganing, Youth 1: Emilie Marzari (Ulten) and Markus Mittermair (Deutschnofen)
Alpine tobogganing, Youth 2: Paula Fink (Latzfons) and Daniel Gamper (Feldthurns)
Alpine toboggan, Senior: Laura Wegmann (Laas) and Simon Gamper (Feldthurns)

Sport sledding, students 1: Valeria Matzoll (Ulten) and Thomas Mitterrutzner (Latzfons)
Sport sledding, students 2: Sofia Petriffer (Villnöß) and Julian Geiser (Laugen Tisens)
Sport luge, Youth 1: Johannes Pircher (Laugen Tisens)
Sport luge, Youth 2: Teresa Runggatscher (Villnöß) and Stefan Geiser (Laugen Tisens)