Olympic big fight day

Weißhaidinger takes the big shot today!

Will Lukas Weißhaidinger win a medal today?

(Bild: GEPA)

Today is the big day for Austrian track and field athletes in Paris! European javelin champion Victoria Hudson wants to make it to the final in the morning qualifying (Group A from 10.25 am), which Lukas Weißhaidinger has already done for her in the discus throw. The 2021 Olympic bronze medallist will fight for his fifth major medal there in the evening from 8.25 pm. 

Finally, Susanne Gogl-Walli will also run her 400 m semifinal at 20:53. She will be chasing Karoline Käfer's age-old record and wants to take her (tiny) chance in the final.

The old acquaintances
With his confident qualification for the final - he clearly exceeded the required distance for direct advancement with 66.72 m in his very first attempt - Lukas Weißhaidinger impressively proved that he is a hot stock for winning a medal. He has already stood on the podium four times at major events. He already has bronze from the Olympics (2021), World Championships (2019) and European Championships (2018) as well as European Championship silver from Rome 2024 in his medal collection at home in his living room. Perhaps there will be more to come from Paris...

Lukas Weißhaidinger

(Bild: AFP/Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV)

The competitors in the final are old acquaintances. All of the favorites had confidently survived the qualification. At the top are world record holder Mykolas Alekna (Lit), Olympic champion Daniel Stahl (Sd), former world champion Kristjan Ceh (Slo) and Andrius Gudzius (Lit). Lukas Weißhaidinger is even capable of beating them all.

Only four negative results
But first it's all about getting into the top 8 from the field of twelve after three attempts in the final. Step by step. Just don't make any mistakes. But even if "everything starts from scratch" in the final, as Lukas Weißhaidinger says, a look at his head-to-head record is very interesting. He only has a negative record against Alekna, Stahl, Ceh and Gudzius, six times it is positive, and he has not yet played a duel against Ralford Mullings (Jam). Here is an overview:

Weißhaidinger - Mykolas Alekna (Lit) 1:6

Weißhaidinger - Daniel Stahl (Sd) 8:39

Weißhaidinger - Kristjan Ceh (Slo) 8:16

Weißhaidinger - Andrius Gudzius (Lit) 16:25

Weißhaidinger - Matt Denny (Aus) 10:8

Weißhaidinger - Traves Smikle (Jam) 9:2

Weißhaidinger - Alin Alexandru Firfirica (Rum) 11:4

Weißhaidinger - Alex Rose (Sam) 7:2

Weißhaidinger - Clemens Prüfer (D) 3:0

Weißhaidinger - Roje Stona (Jam) 1:0

Weißhaidinger - Ralford Mullings (Jam) 0:0

Hudson: "I'm no longer a chick!"
 So if Lukas Weißhaidinger has already taken his first step by reaching the final, Victoria Hudson still has to do the same today. To advance directly from the qualifying round, 62.00 m is required, one meter less than at the Olympics in Tokyo. Perhaps our European champion will clear this hurdle just as confidently as Austria's discus star. And why not? Victoria Hudson's fifth place at the 2023 World Championships, European Championship gold this year in Rome and her super record of 66.06 m have long since made her a world-class athlete, something she knows and says confidently: "I'm no longer a chick!"

Victoria Hudson

(Bild: Kirby Lee)

Banned from the stadium by her coach
She "just doesn't want to lose her nerve" in the qualifiers and she knows "what the perfect throw should be". She had isolated herself as much as possible before her first appearance in Paris; coach Gregor Högler had even banned her from the stadium. Just don't get distracted, save the adrenaline for the competition. Her training partner Lukas Weißhaidinger has already done it.

After winning gold at the European Championships, Vicky Hudson said that she was naturally the center of attention and the media interest was enormous. "But that was okay for me, it was also an honor! The pressure came with the performance." But she doesn't let the outside world put any pressure on her. "I put it on myself anyway!" So, for now, it's all about getting through the qualifiers. Nevertheless, when asked, she dared to look ahead to the final: "I'll probably have to throw over 65 m to win a medal!"

Attacking the age-old record
Susanne Gogl-Walli has absolutely no pressure ahead of her semi-final today! She overcame the biggest hurdle in her preliminary heat on Monday, when she finished third with a new personal best of 50.67 to go straight through to the next round and avoid the annoying detour via the hopeful round. In addition, her time of 50.67 seconds made her the first Austrian to qualify for the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo. For this, 50.75 was required by World Athletics.

Susanne Gogl-Walli

(Bild: AP ( via APA) Austria Presse Agentur/GEORG HOCHMUTH)

The athlete from Linz can now run freely in her second Olympic semi-final. She will be aiming for two goals there. Firstly, she will try to break Karoline Käfer's age-old record, which has stood at 50.62 seconds since 1977, and secondly, she wants to take her small chance of reaching the final. This seems unrealistic in view of the sensationally strong field. But she wants to improve on her Olympic ranking from Tokyo (20th). A very achievable goal, which would be another step forward in her career.