Olympic Games

Gasser and Karl are Austria’s flag bearers!

Snowboarders Anna Gasser and Benjamin Karl(Bild: Michael Meindl, www.michaelmeindl.com)

The two Olympic snowboard champions Anna Gasser and Benjamin Karl will lead the Austrian team as flag bearers at the Winter Games in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo at the opening ceremony on February 6!

This was announced by the Austrian Olympic Committee (ÖOC) on Tuesday during the farewell ceremony for the Austrian Olympic athletes in Vienna. Gasser won gold medals in Pyeongchang in 2018 and Beijing in 2022, while Karl won gold four years ago in China.

"We will carry the flag with pride!"
"We will carry the flag with pride and are very happy to accept," said the two-time Big Air Olympic champion. The 34-year-old from Carinthia will compete for medals in Big Air and Slopestyle in Livigno. Alpine snowboarder Karl was also emotional on stage at the farewell ceremony in the Aula der Wissenschaften. "It is the greatest honor, and I had hoped for years that I would be able to do this one day. I didn't expect it anymore," added the 40-year-old from Lower Austria, who wants to strike again in the parallel giant slalom two days after the opening ceremony in Milan's San Siro stadium as he bids farewell to the Olympics.

ÖOC President Nussbaumer confident
Austria's medal hopes, with the ÖOC sending a 115-strong team to Italy, were given a ceremonial send-off on Tuesday evening. "We have such a great team at the start," emphasized ÖOC President Horst Nussbaumer. Everything is set, with the 18 medals from Beijing serving as the benchmark. "I can say with pride: We are a global player in winter sports, and we will show that there. Milano/Cortina, here we come."

Roswitha Stadlober was also confident about the medal hunt. "We are underdogs, but also favorites. We have everything up our sleeve, and it will turn out well," announced the ÖSV president. In addition to Gasser and Karl, snowboard crosser Alessandro Hämmerle, the third of five individual Olympic champions in Beijing, was also present at the farewell ceremony. Ski racer Johannes Strolz missed out on the Olympic ticket for Italy, while Matthias Mayer has ended his skiing career. The ski jumping team and the alpine skiing team also celebrated their Olympic victory in China.

Farewell ceremony with the Federal President on Wednesday
After receiving their uniforms in Vienna on Monday and Tuesday, the ÖOC athletes will attend a farewell ceremony and be sworn in by Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen at the Hofburg on Wednesday morning.

Austria's flag bearers at the Winter Olympics since 1948:

• 1948 in St. Moritz – Peter Grießler (winter pentathlon)

• 1952 in Oslo – Sepp Bradl (ski jumping)

• 1956 in Cortina d'Ampezzo – Toni Sailer (alpine skiing)

• 1960 in Squaw Valley – Norbert Felsinger (figure skating)

• 1964 in Innsbruck – Regine Heitzer (figure skating)

• 1968 in Grenoble – Emmerich Danzer (figure skating)

• 1972 in Sapporo – Manfred Schmid (luge)

• 1976 in Innsbruck – Franz Klammer (alpine skiing)

• 1980 in Lake Placid – Annemarie Moser (alpine skiing)

• 1984 in Sarajevo – Franz Klammer (alpine skiing)

• 1988 in Calgary – Leonhard Stock (alpine skiing)

• 1992 in Albertville – Anita Wachter (alpine skiing)

• 1994 in Lillehammer – Anita Wachter (alpine skiing)

• 1998 in Nagano – Emese Hunyady (speed skating)

• 2002 in Salt Lake City – Angelika Neuner (luge)

• 2006 in Turin – Renate Götschl (alpine skiing)

• 2010 in Vancouver – Andreas Linger (luge)

• 2014 in Sochi – Mario Stecher (Nordic combined)

• 2018 in Pyeongchang – Anna Veith (alpine skiing)

• 2022 in Beijing – Julia Dujmovits (snowboarding) and Benjamin Maier (bobsleigh)

• 2026 in Milan/Cortina – Anna Gasser/Benjamin Karl (both snowboarding)