In Bischofshofen

First state championship title for Thomas Rettenegger

Thomas Rettenegger is currently in good form.

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

At the Austrian State Championships, combined athlete Thomas Rettenegger won the title on the large hill in Bischofshofen. After mastering the slippery city course, the man from Pongau proved his strong form in the jumping competition.

The state championship titles in the Nordic combined were shared between the brothers. On Thursday, Stefan Rettenegger took victory on the normal hill in Eisenerz. On Sunday, brother Thomas struck back on the large hill in Bischofshofen. "It was easy. It's always cool in Bischofshofen," said the first-time national champion. The field of participants started with a 10-kilometer mass start on a city course. "It was a bit slippery, but we got through it without crashing," said the 24-year-old. He then proved that he is ready for the winter by jumping: "I'm in good shape on the hill at the moment. We can see that we're on the right track. The course is right and it's really fun to start the winter."

However, the athletes are not yet pushing themselves to the limit. "The competition hardness only comes in winter. You can already tell that some of them are still struggling a bit when it comes to pushing themselves," recognized Rettenegger.

In the ski jumping event, the Salzburg team came away empty-handed with Michael Hayböck's victory. Jacqueline Seifriedsberger won the women's event ahead of Lisa Eder and Marita Kramer (both SK Saalfelden).