Top-class discus athlete

Luki throws against Olympic champion in St. Pölten

Lukas Weisshaidinger will meet Olympic champion Harting in St. Pölten.(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Beate Taylor, formerly Schrott, has overcome thousands of hurdles during her active career. In her role as director of the St. Pölten athletics meeting, which takes place on Friday at the Lower Austria Sports Center, she had to take on a few others. The event was upgraded to the C category, which brought further changes.

"We have participants from 34 nations at the start," says Taylor proudly. "Last year there were 14, so we had to add a second hotel." The prize money has also been increased to 30,000 euros. The good news is that there are also more points for the world rankings. This is important for those Austrians who still want to fulfill their dream of the Olympics or the European Championships.

Like Markus Fuchs, for example. For the 100 m sprinter, the Liese Prokop Memorial is almost a home game. "I love running here," he is already looking forward to it. "Recently I was only abroad for two or three months at a time. It's important that I now have a few competitions at home again."

Markus Fuchs sprints for the Olympics in St. Pölten - will he break 10.00 seconds?(Bild: Olaf Brockmann)

The most prominent names on the list of starters can be found in the discus throw. Lukas Weißhaidinger will duel with Christoph Harting (D), the 2016 Olympic champion. This is Luki's second competition of the season. He got off to a solid start with the new technique in Doha with 65.14. "However, the discus is still tipping to the left," he says. He has been working on this over the last few days. He wants to turn the corner in St. Pölten.

The hurdle sprints should be a treat for Beate Taylor. Karin Strametz is in top form, and in the men's race fans can admire the exceptional 19-year-old talent Enzo Diessl. Javelin thrower Vicky Hudson, on the other hand, has canceled her participation due to pain in her lumbar spine.