After gold coup
Over and out: Austria’s Olympic hero calls it quits!
Olympic sailing champion Lukas Mähr ends his career! Together with Lara Vadlau, he won gold off Marseille in the summer of 2024 and is now focusing on his family and his business studies. He will complete his bachelor's degree in the summer and is aiming for the private sector.
"I'm 34, I've achieved my biggest goal. I have another chance to gain a foothold in a new field," said the Vorarlberg native, who lives in Lower Austria.
However, quitting is not easy, added Mähr. "Letting go of something you're good at and enjoy doing, regardless of your success, is brutally difficult. I'm an Olympic champion, what could be better, I would never have dreamed of that." But on the other hand, he is also a family man, has responsibilities and every athlete has an expiration date.
Right after the Olympic victory in August 2024, when his wife Christine and sons Jonathan (now 4) and Lorin (3) were there, he briefly thought "great, that's it". But then he saw the opportunities that had presented themselves in terms of support for another four years until Los Angeles 2028 and briefly had second thoughts. "But at some point, reality catches up with you. Four years is a long time."
Learning to love "the journey is the destination"
Looking back on his sporting career, Mähr said that "no campaign was easy, but every one was relaxed". With David Bargehr in the 470 junior world champion in 2010 and third at the World Championships in 2017, Mähr had to wait a long time to take part in the Olympics. For 2012 and 2016, others were awarded the 470 quota place, but they missed out on qualification for 2021. Then the 470 became a mixed class and the opportunity arose for 2024 with Vadlau.
"I would never have imagined that my career would be so long and complex - with so many missteps on my part. I certainly got bogged down far too often in things that weren't so relevant to performance or that made me faster on the water." It took a long time, but it bore fruit in the end. "It then meshed like a cogwheel."
I would never have imagined that my career would be so long, so complex - with so many wrong turns on my part.
Lukas Mähr
Former OeSV sports director Georg Fundak had already predicted that it would be a long way for an Austrian to reach the top in sailing. "I didn't believe him, but he was absolutely right. In retrospect, every year of my apprenticeship was necessary. That Lara and I could really succeed in Paris. Whether it was the material, the technique or the mental preparation - we were able to take that with us for many, many years."
The saying "the journey is the reward" gained in importance. Because it wasn't as if you suddenly found the magic key, but he had to go on this whole journey. He didn't enjoy everything, but the realization set in: "If you don't start loving this journey, you won't reach the destination." And the realization came: work hard every day and still draw energy for the next day.
Grateful for the respect shown
Sailing is "such a complex, beautiful sport", and it's not just in winter sports, but also in summer sports in Austria, such as swimming and athletics, that very professional work is being done. "Summer sport is absolutely worthy of support, there are a lot of cool things happening," said Mähr, who won the "Team of the Year 2024" award with Vadlau.
Due to his many stays abroad, he has not had as many opportunities to attend sporting events in Austria, which he has now made up for. Among other things, he attended alpine ski races in Schladming and at the World Championships in Saalbach-Hinterglemm. And enjoyed the interaction with other athletes. "Megalässig, I'm brutally grateful that we were shown so much respect," said Mähr.
Profile
Lukas MÄHR (34) 470, foresailor
Born: April 23, 1990 in Bregenz (Vorarlberg)
Place of residence: Gutenstein (Lower Austria)
Marital status: married, father of two boys (Lorin, Jonathan)
Club: Yachtclub Bregenz
Coach: Morgan Reeser (USA)
Greatest successes (all 470s):
Olympics: Gold Paris/Marseille 2024 (with Lara Vadlau)
World Championships: Bronze in Thessaloniki 2017 (with David Bargehr), 4th in The Hague 2023 (with Vadlau), 8th in Haifa 2022 (with Vadlau)
Junior World Championships: Silver 2010 (with Bargehr)
Award: Team of the Year 2024 in Austria
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