Austria's ice hockey women with Olympic dreams: last chance in Bremerhaven!

Austria's ice hockey women with Olympic dreams: last chance in Bremerhaven!

The Austrian ice hockey women are facing a historic challenge: This week they are fighting in the qualification tournament in Bremerhaven for their first participation in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo. The ÖEHV selection will meet the strong A nations Germany, Hungary and Slovakia. Only the winner of the tournament receives the coveted Olympic ticket, and the Austrian players go into these encounters as clear outsiders laola1.at reported.

The game against Germany kicks off on Thursday at 7:30 p.m., followed by the games against Hungary on Saturday and Slovakia on Sunday. Goalkeeper Selma Luggin and her teammates are ready to give everything to avoid a deja vu like 2021, when they failed in the decisive game against Denmark after a surprise win against Germany. This time they want to surprise with a strong performance and are relying on the support of players from the US professional league PWHL, who have traveled specially. “The Olympic Games are every athlete’s dream,” said Anna Meixner, one of the reinforcements who will give the team more speed and spirit.

Slovakia's participation in the 2024 Olympics

At the same time, similar hopes for Olympic gold could be nurtured by Slovakia at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. Slovakia secured a starting place in the women's individual competition through strong performances in various disciplines. Athletes like Denisa Baránková and Jessica Triebeľová were able to fulfill their dream and will represent the Slovak colors next year. Slovakia also achieved quota places in the TV and canoe slalom, thus showing a promising Olympic record. Particularly noteworthy is the first-time participation in the skateboarding competition, a highlight in Slovakia's Olympic history Wikipedia can be read.

The Austrians, led by team boss Alexander Bröms, hope to achieve great things as underdogs in Bremerhaven and finally make their long-held dream of the Olympics come true.