After firecracker accident

Master baker (25) looks to the future with optimism

An accident with a firework destroyed Thomas Volgger's right hand.

(Bild: Kerstin Joensson)

A firework tore off part of Thomas Volgger's hand in December 2023. One year later, the sports-loving master baker from St. Martin bei Lofer looks back on the accident and ahead to the future.

Thomas Volgger spent nineteen days in a row in Salzburg Accident Hospital. On December 2, 2023, he wanted to light a firecracker during the Krampus run in Lofer. It exploded in his right hand. Four fingers and parts of the metacarpal bone - simply gone. "What happened was a load of nonsense," says the 25-year-old from St. Martin bei Lofer around a year later. Then and now, Thomas Volgger is a master baker. The accident a few months after passing his master baker's examination changed his life.

The young master baker from St. Martin bei Lofer now does different things in the family bakery than before. Thanks to a prosthesis.

(Bild: Kerstin Joensson)

He still gets up early and works in the family bakery in St. Martin from 2 am. Only now he wears a prosthesis. Kneading dough takes twice as long. "Of course I can't do some things anymore, but I can do others," says the young Pinzgauer. This year, he slipped back into his Krampus coat and larva. "I didn't get to run more than once." Because Volgger doesn't want to miss his beloved sport.

In addition to the bakery, Volgger competes in Paraski races - with just one pole. The buried dream of the alpine ski circus is partly coming back to life.

(Bild: clemens derganc)

Discovering paraskiing during rehab
On the first day after his second hospital stay, just weeks after the explosion, he went on a ski tour. He climbs at the sixth level of difficulty, rides a mountain bike and now competes in Paraski races. The young baker graduated from the ski tourism school in Bad Hofgastein. "It wasn't enough to make it into the World Cup," says the 25-year-old. "I now enjoy skiing and probably ski better than I used to."

During his rehab in Tobelbad, he was approached by a coach from the Austrian Paraski team. In recent weeks, Thomas Volgger celebrated his debut on the race piste. He heads into the new year with top placings under his belt. Downhill races in Santa Caterina, Italy, are on the agenda at the beginning of January.

"Sometimes I have to train straight after work at 6 a.m." Sport, work and family have to fit together. When there is a lot to do in the bakery, that comes first, of course. Thomas Volgger's dream and goal, however, are the 2026 Paralympics in Milan and Cortina.