Athletics award

“It was an incredible year for Styria”

Enzo Diessl's Olympic performance outshone everything.

(Bild: GEPA/GEPA pictures)

"It was an incredible year for Styrian athletics!" Association President Erika König-Zenz was very satisfied at the end-of-year celebrations in Graz after the great performances of the white-green athletes at the Olympics and other major events such as the World Championships and European Championships.

Highlights: "Our Athlete of the Year award was split this time between two hurdlers. Enzo Diessl qualified for the European Championships and the Olympics. And Karin Strametz finished tenth in the European Championship semifinals, was 13th at the World Indoor Championships and only missed out on the Olympics by five places. From an athlete's point of view, it was a great year, especially as we also had Viktoria Willhuber in the relay at the European Championships in Rome."

Karin Strametz has qualified for the European Indoor Championships.

(Bild: GEPA/GEPA pictures)

Prospects: With Philipp Pichler and Isabel Engel, two Styrians qualified for the U21 World Championships, plus Lenia Standfest, Gabriel Bornemann and Jakob Hollegger, three more qualified for the U18 World Championships. "With Ilvy Lehmann, who leads the year's best list in the hammer throw and received the 'Rookie of the year' award, someone is also moving up."

The 4 x 100 m women's relay team with the Styrians Viktoria Willhuber (left), Karin Strametz (2nd from left), Magdalena Lindner and Isabel Posch ran at the European Championships in Rome.

(Bild: GEPA/GEPA pictures)

The downer: The fact that coach Beate Hochleitner, who brought Diessl to the Olympics, was hired thanks to ÖLV aid, but no state funding was found for this, hurts. "Next season, however, we will be working hard to make this happen," says König-Zenz.

Resources: The STLV, which represents 63 member clubs and around 2,000 members, has a total annual budget of €250,000 and six employees, most of whom work part-time or completely on a voluntary basis like the president.

STLV awards

Club of the Year: SU Leibnitz (Club of the Year)

Team of the year: LTU Graz 4 x 100 m relay team Jessacher/Standfest/Pitner/Willhuber

Rookie of the year: Ilvy Lehmann

ÖLV records: Enzo Diessl and Karin Strametz

STLV records: Enzo Diessl, Jakob Kolleggger, Gabriel Bornemann, Raphael Siebenhofer, Karin Strametz, LTU Graz 4 x 100 and 200 m

Dr. Hans-Jörg Frantz Prize: Horst Pimeshofer

Honorary prize Paralympics: Natalija Eder

Young athlete of the year: Lenia Standfest

Masters World Champion: Sabine Plammer

Austrian Masters records: Sabine Plammer and Klaus Müller

Athlete of the Year: Karin Strametz and Enzo Diessl

Outlook: "Our top athletes still have some highlights ahead of them," says König-Zenz, "At 26, Karin Strametz is in her prime, she has already qualified for the European Indoor Championships in Holland at the beginning of March and is close to the World Indoor Championships in China. Enzo Diessl is at the beginning of his career and probably still has two Olympic Games ahead of him. You can also expect to see him at the European Indoor Championships and World Championships."

The STLV with guests of honor and top athlete Enzo Diessl (center) at the award ceremony at the Intercity Hotel in Graz.

(Bild: zVg/STLV)

Future: "I hope that all our people will fulfill their potential and look back on their careers and be able to say afterwards: That was cool, it was worth it!"