Dusek and Hämmerle: Bronze for Austria, but tough fight playful!

Dusek and Hämmerle: Bronze for Austria, but tough fight playful!

in the World Cup final in the snowboard cross in St. Moritz there was a dramatic and decisive moment for the Austrian athletes Alessandro Hämmerle and Jakob Dusek. While both performed convincing in the quarter and semi-finals, they blocked each other in the final. In the last curve, Dusek Hämmerle overtaken, which led to a reduction in speed and ultimately took the chance of better placement. Eliot Grondin from Canada secured the gold medal, while Loan Bozzolo from France won the silver medal. Hämmerle could still be satisfied with the winning of the bronze medal, while Dusek remained without a medal. The latter described the situation as "really stupid" and particularly regretted that they had lost in the crucial curve. Krone reports that Hämmerle won his second World Cup medal in 2021.

The Austrian Ski Association ÖSV can see a total of four medals in the title fights in Switzerland. The ÖSV currently turns out to be the most successful nation in the snowboard area, although a gold medal is still missing. Hämmerle, who was able to collect his first two World Cup medals, said that a third place was already "a small satisfaction" for him, while Dusek, who took fourth place, did not blame his teammate, but clearly felt the pain over the missed medal. In other disciplines, Austria is not optimally performing: Pia Zerkhold was already doing the qualification in the women's competition, while the title went to the Italian Michela Moioli. Laola1 emphasizes that no other nation has won more gold medals in Bakuriani.

A mixed competition follows on Saturday, while the World Cup goes to Canada next week. The success and challenges in St. Moritz will be both frustrating and motivating for the athletes and the ÖSV to tackle the upcoming competitions with a new vigor.