Austria – A Nation of Athletes
Isn’t the weather glorious? Just a week ago, it was cold and pouring with rain and some people even turned their heating on. We really thought that this summer, which hasn’t been much to write home about, had come to an abrupt end. Now the temperature has risen to over 30 degrees and we have been promised a scorching weekend – an unexpected gift at the end of summer.
I am, as usual, lying on my sun bed at the edge of my favourite lake in the Salzkammergut, and enjoying the view. Even though it is a week day there are lots of people here, probably taking advantage of this mini heatwave. It is wonderful – a sight for sore eyes.
However, there is definitely a touch of autumn in the air. The leaves have started to turn golden and the trees are making very long shadows. Even though it is almost 30 degrees, it is a bit too cool to sit in the shade and the lake is rather chilly. All of a sudden ,I notice a group of swimmers, who look like a school of sharks in their wet suits, training for the lake crossing this weekend. The ones in the lead are extremely fast as they glide through the water with such ease. From this distance, they look like Olympic swimmers, who could compete with Michael Phelps (the American competitive swimmer who won a total of 28 medals at the Olympic Games) any day.
Now, I will get to the point: I simply can’t understand why Austria didn’t win more Olympic medals in Rio 2016. This is certainly not a criticism, but an observation. Since I first came to Austria, almost 30 years ago, I have met so many athletic people, of all ages, who run marathons, swim 5 kilometres across lakes or participate in the Ironman (pronounced "Ionman" without the "R") competition. Many will be participating in this strenuous competition in Zell am See, this weekend. There is certainly no lack of very fit Austrian people, who could have trained to participate in the Olympic Games. I know people who have run up and down three 1,800 metre mountains, in one day! In all the places I have ever lived, and there have been quite a few, I have never come across such fit, healthy people as the Austrians, who seem to enjoy sports of all kinds and are extremely good at them.
It doesn’t depend on your age: Many Austrians, who are well over 70, still go hiking or cycling and of course, are still brilliant skiers. There was an amazing story in last Wednesday’s Salzburger Nachrichten, about Albert Morocutti, from Anthering, who cycled around Austria to celebrate his forthcoming milestone birthday. He did his own 2000 kilometre mountain bike tour, with an amazing 30,000 metre height difference, to celebrate turning 70 in October. Mr Morocutti is no exception. A friend of mine cycled from Salzburg to Assisi, to celebrate turning 70, even though he was suffering from health problems.
Another example: I was hiking up the Gaisberg mountain the other day on quite a narrow pathway. An elderly man, who must have heard me speaking English as he said "Excuse me", wanted to overtake me. Not only was he well into his seventies, but he only had one leg! In my opinion, Austrians are really made of sterner stuff and have lots of strength and endurance when it comes to sport and exercise. Maybe, the Austrian team was more lacking confidence than stamina. As the team didn’t do very well in previous Olympic Games, some Austrian people had virtually written them off before they had even started. It is going to be a completely different story in the Winter Olympics 2018, in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The Austrian team excels in winter sports and will be the favourites to win many gold medals.