Reiner defies extreme heat: 14th place at the World Games in China!

Reiner defies extreme heat: 14th place at the World Games in China!

At the World Games in Chengdu, China, the Austrian orientation runner Matthias Reiner has achieved a remarkable 14th place in the middle distance. The competition took place under extreme conditions that were a major challenge for the athletes. With temperatures of almost 37 degrees Celsius and high humidity, the terrain was particularly demanding, characterized by mosaic -like rice fields. These circumstances meant that over 25% of the athletes did not reach the goal and some also had to be medical care. Reiner himself described the competition as one of the toughest experiences of his life, both physically and mentally. Despite these adversity, he mastered the competition with remarkable mental strength and thus showed the high competitiveness of the Austrian orientation run at an international level.

Matthias Reiner finished the race with a time of 12 minutes and 36 seconds behind the winner, which achieved a time of 45:22 minutes. This time is well above average, since the fastest athletes usually reach the finish after just over half an hour. But for Reiner, the effort was so extreme that he had to be brought to the athlete village in a wheelchair. He reported on a collapse in the finish area, which reinforces the challenges of the competition. Other athletes like Jannis Bonek also had to stop the race early. Bonek, who felt chest pain during the race, was examined in the Medical Tent.

Team Austria and other disciplines

The Austria team was mixed after the first day of competition. In addition to the orientation run, competitions also took place in the wakeboarding in which Alina Binder and Mariella Flemme showed remarkable achievements. Binder secured the entry into the semi -finals with a score of 45.00, while Flemme reached the final with 47.80 points. Despite a fall in her last trick in the second run, Flemme was satisfied with her performance and still sees potential for improvement.

The current events throw a light on the challenges with which athletes are confronted in non-Olympic sports. In a further context, a study by "Safeimsport" shows that in Saxony-Anhalt, 80% of the former sports club members surveyed have experienced some form of violence in sport. This knowledge is becoming increasingly important because many sports associations deal with the topic. The study revealed that women rather report on experiences of violence and that a higher sporting level is often associated with more violence.

Nevertheless, most respondents rate their experiences in club sport as positive, with 93% the good to very good experiences reported, even with serious forms of violence. This discrepancy between the positive experiences and the experiences described shows the need for clear rules and procedural processes in dealing with suspected cases or incidents. The contact persons of the LSB Saxony-Anhalt as well as the independent contact point "Safe Sport" offer support and advice to protect athletes and help them to deal with incidents in sport.