At home title fights

Nine medals for Wals even without a figurehead

Olympic candidate Simon Marchl, who had been injured for a long time, decided to forgo a ticket to the Summer Games in favor of preparing for the race. But even without him, the Austrian freestyle championships in the Walserfeldhalle were a complete success for the hosts.

Athletes from AC Wals picked up nine medals at the home championships on Saturday. Gold went to Kristian Cikel (up to 57 kilograms), Gabriel Janatsch (up to 65), Benedikt Huber (up to 74) and Muhamed Bektemirov (up to 79). As Jusuf Bektemirov (silver up to 61), Abdullah Eskil (up to 97) and Julian Neumaier (both bronze; up to 125) also finished on the podium, this was also enough for first place in the team ranking together with rival Inzing.

Two medals for the women
Magdalena Ragginger (silver up to 76) and Carina Außerleitner (bronze up to 62) also won medals in the women's competition, which took place at the same time. "The boys and girls have been rewarded for their hard training with great performances and are well prepared for the other championships and international tournaments," said a satisfied AC Wals head coach Matthias Ausserleitner.