Wernberg celebrates its ski star: Mayor honors Fabián Held!

Wernberg celebrates its ski star: Mayor honors Fabián Held!

In February, the mayor of Wernberg, Doris Liposchek, honored the town's outstanding personalities, including successful athletes. A special place in these honors was given to Fabián Held, an 18-year-old ski jumper who won the world championship title in the team competition at the Nordic Junior World Ski Championships in Planica, Slovenia this year. However, Held was not present at the ceremony as he is completing his school and sports training at the Eisenerz Nordic Training Center in Styria. During the Easter holidays he had the opportunity to visit the mayor in the municipal office with his mother Carmen.

Mayor Liposchek was impressed by the motivation and consistency that Held demonstrated both in his sporting career and in his school education. In recognition of his extraordinary achievements, she presented him with a small gold bar. In the coming weeks, Fabián Held will prepare for his high school diploma and final apprenticeship exam in the design engineering profession. In addition, the Nordic Junior World Ski Championships are coming up in Norway in 2026, for which he would like to get fit now.

The youngsters in ski jumping

Fabián Held's success is part of a larger youth story in ski jumping, which is also supported by the German Ski Association (DSV). The DSV can look back on a successful time with international successes across all age groups. These positive developments are based on the cooperation between clubs, state ski associations and the DSV itself. However, there are also challenges: the youth situation has changed in recent years and the traditional recruitment systems no longer work so well, which leads to falling numbers of participants in regional and national competition systems.

In order to secure the international leadership position in skiing, the DSV has developed a new screening system that was created in collaboration with the state ski associations. A particular focus is on the primary school competition, a one-day event designed to get children excited about ski jumping. In this competition, children can test their skills and perform their first jumps on a small ski jump. Interested children can take part in the regional competition for their school. The most successful participants qualify for the final, while non-qualified children can also attempt further jumps during “newcomer” training and gain valuable experience in ski jumping.

Overall, it shows that the sport is still looking for new talent in order to remain competitive at an international level in the future. Fabián Held's case is an inspiring example of young athletes who can achieve great success through hard work and dedication. While the talented ski jumper has a promising career ahead of him, it remains to be hoped that similar talents will be supported by the DSV's new programs and will continue to enjoy success in the future.