Annalena Voplakal:

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Anna-Lena Voplakal (center) was honored at the Lifesavers Gala - she even postponed her training camp in Sweden for it.(Bild: Alexander Tuma)

Annalena Voplakal was honored at the Lifesaving Gala - she even postponed her training camp in Sweden for this.(Bild: Alexander Tuma)

The young water rescuer and lifeguard Anna-Lena Voplakal became a lifesaver after a fatal wasp sting at the Schwarzenberg outdoor pool this summer.

It's a perfect summer's day: the sun is shining, there are no clouds in the sky and the thermometer is hovering around 30 degrees. Mrs. Nussbaumer is spending the day with her grandchild at the idyllic outdoor pool in Schwarzenberg. Suddenly she is stung by a wasp. Although this is painful and annoying, it is nothing to worry about - after all, Mrs. Nussbaumer has already been stung several times in her life. But this time is different. Her condition worsens by the minute, her arm swells up, she finds it difficult to breathe and is plagued by dizziness. Finally, she seeks out the lifeguard, a young woman named Anna-Lena Voplakal. She immediately suggests calling the ambulance. Ms. Nussbaumer reassures her that this is not necessary, especially as she has no relevant allergies. However, Anna-Lena Voplakal has a bad feeling, a bad premonition - and so she decides to call the emergency services anyway.

Now in winter, Anna-Lena Voplakal is speeding around on two boards, in summer she worked as a lifeguard in Schwarzenberg - and saved a woman's life in the process.(Bild: Schwarzenberg Tourismus)

It was a life-saving decision: Because when the emergency services arrive, Ms. Nussbaumer is already fighting for her life, suffering several anaphylactic shocks. But in the end she wins the race against time - because the emergency services arrived just in time and Anna-Lena Voplakal acted exactly right. Unfortunately, in many cases like this there is no happy ending; in Vorarlberg alone, an average of 20 people die every year from a bee or wasp sting.

Great skiing talent on the way back to the top
By the way: it is very possible that you will come across the name Anna-Lena Voplakal more often in the future, as the 19-year-old is a promising ski talent. After a serious injury, the ski cross racer is currently fighting her way back to the top - very successfully. She was supposed to be on a training camp in Sweden for the big Lifesaver Gala - but she postponed it because the event was simply too important to her.

Anna-Lena Voplakal will be honored with other Austrian heroes and heroines at the ORF "Lebensretter 2024" gala:
 Monday, December 16, at 9:15 p.m. on ORF 2.