Diving at Lake Attersee

Austria’s ski crossers are fast even underwater

Austria’s ski crossers Adam Kappacher, Katrin Ofner, Tristan Takats, Sonja Gigler, and Johnny Rohrweck (from left) suited up in their wetsuits at Lake Attersee.(Bild: Oliver Gaisbauer)

An unusual underwater excursion for Austria’s skicrossers as part of their preparation for the World Championship season: At Lake Attersee, the team tried their hand at diving—and demonstrated their speed there as well.

“You guys were so fast, I couldn’t even keep up,” said diving instructor Gust as he resurfaced on the shore at Weyregg with Johnny Rohrweck and Adam Kappacher. “That’s a good sign for the winter,” grinned head coach Markus Gutenbrunner. Yes, Austria’s ski crossers proved yesterday that they’re not only fast on frozen water, but also in the midst of a different state of matter—where speed shouldn’t even matter at all. After a lap on their road bikes as part of the camp, the ÖSV ski crossers—who were staying at the Hotel Bramosen with its magnificent lake view—took part in a trial diving course! 

Great location: Adam Kappacher and the team are staying at the Hotel Bramosen in Weyregg am Attersee.(Bild: Oliver Gaisbauer)

Before their first dive, however, the knees of some of these cross-country skiers—who are otherwise fearless on their skis—were shaking a bit—and certainly not because of the dive to a depth of about 5 meters at a temperature of around 12° Celsius. “I was a little nervous beforehand—I’d rather be five meters up in the air than five meters underwater,” said Katrin Ofner, for example. 

Katrin Ofner (right) felt a bit apprehensive before the dive,(Bild: Oliver Gaisbauer)

“Underwater, you really unwind”
“It turned out to be a really cool experience: breathing calmly underwater, staying calm—that’s when you really unwind,” said Katrin Ofner. “It was fun—and it’s a great team-building activity; none of the athletes had ever done this before,” said Gutenbrunner from Liebenau, who now serves as a coach in addition to his role as athletic director. “The team atmosphere here is really great—and with this fantastic location, everything’s naturally even more fun,” smiled Sonja Gigler, who has gathered the core group of top performers for the camp, which runs through Wednesday.

Johnny Rohrweck (left) and the others were fast even underwater.(Bild: Oliver Gaisbauer)

The coaching staff led by Markus Gutenbrunner (right) was also there.(Bild: Oliver Gaisbauer)

Sexy: Adam Kappacher dressed to impress.(Bild: Oliver Gaisbauer)

It was also the first time diving for Katrin Ofner and Sonja Gigler.(Bild: Oliver Gaisbauer)

Camp in Chile?
After the camp, the athletes will head back to their Olympic training centers to focus on strength and conditioning. They might head to Chile for the first time on snow ahead of the World Championships season—from March 6 to 21, 2027, Montafon in Vorarlberg and Kühtai in Tyrol will become the international hub for snowboarding, freestyle, and freeskiing —due to a lack of snow on our glaciers, they’ll head to Chile. But first, as part of the camp, they did fitness training, attended a workshop—and went back into the Attersee. Bubble, bubble...