Athletics

Great honor! Austrians represented in the world federation

For the first time, Austria's athletics is represented by a full-time employee at the headquarters of World Athletics. This great honor is bestowed upon Dr. Alexander Razen, who will be working in Monte Carlo as the new Technical Services Manager with immediate effect. The 39-year-old succeeds Imre Mátraházi from Hungary, who is retiring.

This is a dream come true for Alexander Razen. His hobby, the rules of athletics, has become his profession. He initially completed his national referee training in Austria and, from 2015, also passed the international examinations up to "Technical Official Level II", eventually also passing the Technical Delegate examination. He was one of the best performers on each course. Razen holds a doctorate in Economics from the University of Innsbruck, specializing in statistics.

The Vorarlberg native initially worked for European Athletics at various major events. At the European Indoor Championships in Istanbul 2023, he once again impressed the representatives of World Athletics with his expertise and friendly demeanor. Pierce O'Callaghan, Head of Competition Manager at World Athletics, asked whether Razen would like to succeed Imre Mátraházi. The Austrian agreed, as he could hardly imagine a better job. Imre Mátraházi speaks very highly of his successor in Monte Carlo.

1300 hours of work
Alexander Razen had become increasingly passionate about athletics rules over the past few decades. He has made a name for himself since 2020 with the publication of the German-language "Leichtathletik-Wettkampfregeln". This is the translation of the "Competition Rules and Technical Rules" of World Athletics. His version of "2024-2025", self-published in Vienna, was published in mid-January this year. He spent around 1,300 hours working on the translation for the first edition. Insiders know what incredibly complicated and lengthy work this was. No wonder he is highly regarded by the World Athletics Federation. From now on, he is "responsible for the international rules and regulations and for the certification of competition facilities and equipment worldwide" (Austrian Athletics).

Götzis just missed out
Dr. Alexander Razen was a decathlete during his active career. He won 21 medals at Austrian championships, represented Austria four times at the all-around European Cup and has a best performance of 6907 points (2008). He looks back with a smile, but also wistfully, on the fact that with this result, achieved in adverse weather conditions with a lot of headwind in the competition, he just missed out on a start in the all-around Mecca of Götzis. Organizer Konrad Lerch had promised him a starting place in Götzis if he managed over 7000 points. Despite narrowly missing the "standard", Konrad Lerch stuck to his...