The bar is high!

World Ski Championships: We’ve never been without gold at home

Marcel Hirscher (left) with his haul from Schladming 2013: twice gold and once silver. The 2001 home World Championships in St. Anton are inextricably linked with downhill winner Hannes Trinkl (right)(Bild: Christof Birbaumer)

This bar is (probably too) high! Saalbach 1991 was the most successful home World Championships in Austria's glorious skiing history to date. Eleven (!) medals rained down at the time, five of them gold. Back then, almost anything went for Stephan Eberharter, Petra Kronberger, Ulli Maier, Rudi Nierlich & Co.

The new Saalbach edition 34 years later should (ideally) be based more on the two most recent World Championships in the red-white-red snow: 2001 in St. Anton (the Tyroleans want to reveal details about a new bid soon, by the way) and 2013 in Schladming. It was there that Marcel Hirscher took the last Austrian gold at a home World Championships to date.

(Bild: „Krone“)

In the slalom on the final day, he withstood the pressure of an entire sporting nation with nerves of steel and caused pure ecstasy on the Planai. Even today, Hirscher still talks about the most formative day of his great career.

Meissnitzer provides exciting insights
Alexandra Meissnitzer also knows what it's like to feel the pressure of a World Championships and especially a home World Championships. "It's important to block out all the background noise as much as possible and stay focused." The environment, i.e. the coaches, are also particularly important. "They have to help you focus on the essentials and radiate calm."

Alexandra Meissnitzer(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Then it will also work on day X, when you can definitely be more nervous than average. "I was so nervous that I felt really sick. But you can and should allow this nervousness, it's part of it. The most important thing is to trust in what you've trained and what you can do." Perhaps this tactic will help our team. So that the "minimum goal" of a gold medal is also achieved this time, because Austria has never had to finish a home World Championships without gold.