Youth Games: Gold for ski jumper Embacher at EYOF

The Tyrolean was in a class of its own in the Nordic Center near the Italian border winning jumps of 99 and 101 metres, by a margin of more than 20 points. Silver and bronze went to Poland. Clemence Juniac and Victor Sozda cheered at the flower ceremony on the crossbar with embassies. The trio will still have to wait for the medals, and the awards ceremony won’t take place until Tuesday night in Tarvisio.

“It’s unbelievable, I’m at a loss for words,” said the 17-year-old happily. His first jump was very powerful, and the second was at a very high level. “The feeling in the air is exciting, and I just can’t get enough of it,” Imbacher said. Same goes for EYOF: “It’s really casual here.”

Other Austrians were also in good form: Johannes Pölz (seventh), Simon Steinberger (eighth) and Jakob Steinberger (tenth) finished in the top ten. The red, white and red talent also jumped into the role of nominees for the team competition on Wednesday. “We certainly have good chances, but it’s a new day, the cards are adjusting. But I hope we’ll be in a good mood again,” Embacher opened the hunt for his second EYOF medal.

Gams and Pietsch won the bronze medal in the RTL Parallel

Domestic snowboarders were also able to celebrate with two medals. At Biancavallo, Styrian Marie Games and Carinthian Werner Beach finished third in the parallel giant slalom. The two ÖSV talents braved adverse external conditions before the eyes of OOC General Secretary Peter Meynell. The blizzard that paralyzed large parts of Carinthia did not stop at the Winter Youth Games. The parallel giant slalom race fluctuated, but the competitions started with a bit of a delay.

Gams has already shown solid runs in the qualifications, in the round of 16 she beat Bulgarian Yordanka Andonova. After another victory in the quarterfinals, Styria was also in the lead for a long time in the semifinals against the Czech Republic, Adela Kıchlikova. Only one mistake with three goals remaining cost her the victory and her place in the final, so she entered the minor final against Ukraine’s Eleonora Olzhuk. There Gams again showed her class and took home the bronze medal. “I’m very happy. The semi-final was a bit embarrassing, but I’m very happy with the bronze,” said Jamz.

A few minutes later, Gams cheered again in the end zone, this time with teammate Pietsch. The 17-year-old from Carinthia was on the verge of reaching the final before he also made a mistake. “Annoying, but luck has been on my side in previous races. Under the conditions, he’s fast, I can’t complain about him today.” With a strong lead in the small final, Pitch defeated pole-sitter Anatole Kolpinski and took the bronze medal. “I wasn’t expecting a medal, but I definitely thought I could. The competition was tough, so I’m even more happy. It’s great when hard work is rewarded,” Carinthian said.