Intensive preparation

World Championship starters flew to Australia for training

Julia Kusel and Lukas Frühwirth have also taken part in EuroSkills and are now heading to Lyon for the World Skills Championships in September.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Skills Austria, Florian Wieser)

From mental training sessions and mentors who are considered experts in their professions to training sessions in Australia, Abu Dhabi and the like: Austria is leaving nothing to chance in its preparations for the WorldSkills in Lyon. Nine participants from Upper Austria will be hunting for medals.

The Eurexpo Lyon exhibition center, where WorldSkills will take place from September 10, is located between the airport and the city center. Nine Upper Austrians qualified for the World Skills Championships. "At the moment, the nervousness is still limited," emphasizes plant electrician Lukas Frühwirth, who, like baker Julia Kusel, already has experience from EuroSkills.

Nine participants from Upper Austria will be hunting for medals at WorldSkills. Upper Austrian Chamber of Commerce Vice President Leo Jindrak (l.) is also traveling to France.(Bild: WKOÖ)

Nothing is left to chance during preparation: Each participant was assigned a profession-specific expert, plus three team camps in which mental coaches and sports stars such as Olympic snowboarding champion Benjamin Karl also prepared the starters for the exceptional situation.

Competing for Upper Austria at WorldSkills

From 10. to 15. September, nine participants will be representing Upper Austria at WorldSkills: Lukas Frühwirth (plant electrics/employer: voestalpine Stahl), Julia Kusel (baker/Resch&Frisch), Simone Warschenhofer (refrigeration and air conditioning technology/Hauser GmbH), Jana Bacher (confectioner/Pastry Grellinger), Fabian Reisinger (agricultural and construction machinery technology/Kaufmann Alois GmbH), David Weinberger (truck technology/Petschl Werkstätten), Miriam Haider (fashion technology/OÖ Theater und Orchester GmbH), Rene Steinkellner (plumbing and heating technology/Forstenlechner GmbH), Daniel Hain (stonemason/Strasser Steine).

"Mental training is particularly important in order to be prepared if you have a lapse or something doesn't work straight away," says Leo Jindrak, Vice President of the Upper Austrian Chamber of Commerce.

Weinberger is now going to the Germany camp
A great deal is expected from the experience gained at international training courses: Frühwirth flew to Abu Dhabi, for example, pastry chef Jana Bacher was in Finland, Fabian Reisinger, Miriam Haider and Simon Warschenhofer met other World Cup participants in Australia. David Weinberger will be heading to Germany for four days from Thursday.