Jakob Pedevilla: A fisherman of the best times and a lifesaver in one!

Jakob Pedevilla: A fisherman of the best times and a lifesaver in one!

Jakob Pedevilla is a 19-year-old rescue athlete from East Tyrol who has already achieved numerous successes in the world of swimming and lifesaving. Since learning to swim at the age of four under the guidance of his mother, he developed a passion for the discipline. His parents were active members of the Carinthian water rescue service, which further shaped his career. Pedevilla started competing at the age of nine, but began training seriously at 14.

His training includes swimming training four to five times a week, supplemented by weekly exercises in rescue techniques with the water rescue team in East Tyrol. In order to stay fit even in the cold season, he is also active in the Lienz cross-country skiing and cycling club. Despite his full-time job, Pedevilla finds time for his training and sees no disadvantages in it. He takes part in eight to nine competitions every year and has fought for a place in the Austrian water rescue team in recent years.

Achievements and championships

Pedevilla has already won several titles in his young career. He became Austrian runner-up in 2022 and won the title of Austrian champion three times with the Tyrolean state squad in 2019, 2021 and 2022. His triumph at state level allows him to take part in the Austrian championships in July, which represent an important qualification for the 2026 World Cup in Morocco.

The 48th Austrian Lifesaving Championships recently took place in St. Pölten from June 28th to 29th, 2024. Pedevilla competed alongside teammates Ilija Drexel and Nick Lexer. The competitions included a total of seven individual events and seven relay events, which were held both in open water and in the swimming pool. In these competitions, Pedevilla finished 16th, while his team won the ÖWR overall ranking, just ahead of the teams from Lower Austria and Vienna.

Commitment and future plans

In addition to his sporting ambitions, Pedevilla plans to study after his HAK high school diploma in the fall, with a focus on tourism, sport and leisure management. His interest in water sports extends beyond swimming. He enjoys whitewater swimming and works as a rafting guide.

In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his girlfriend, friends and family. He also discovered an unexpected talent for baking cakes. His involvement in rescue sports is more than just a hobby; it is a way of life characterized by the values ​​of rescue, swimming and diving, which are considered the mainstays of the sport. Lifesaving in Austria has developed into an independent sport with special training content and separate competitions, which Pedevilla and his colleagues actively experience in their daily training sessions.

The importance of lifesaving as an independent sport with specific characteristics and a distinct organizational structure underlines the central role that this discipline plays not only in competition, but also in water safety. The development of lifesaving didactics is continually reflected on and contributes to improving training and the methodological approach.