150 people with disabilities at cross-country skiing days
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Around 150 people with disabilities from Austria, Switzerland and Bavaria who are enthusiastic about sports are taking part in the Lungau cross-country skiing days near Tamsweg this week. They lack ambition just as much as they lack fun. Competition day is Thursday.
The Prebersee area near Tamsweg on Tuesday: Because it is very windy, the start of training had to be postponed by an hour and a half. But then the weather god had an appearance with the athletes. Under the guidance of supervisors, the first thing to do was to warm up. Then the cross-country skis were strapped on and off we went into the freshly prepared trail. Everyone trained appropriately according to their abilities and physical condition. So everyone decided for themselves how long they trained.
“Keep going and don’t give up”
Conclusion of the participants after the first units on the cross-country ski run: “It’s okay – I didn’t fall. It really suited me,” said Waltraud Grasfurtner from Salzburg. “You’re just more motivated when you train. And they kneel more when you go down. That is the most important thing,” added Alexandra Leitgeb from Murau. “Just keep at it and don’t give up at all” – that was the motto of Ingo Troppauer from Salzburg.
Around 50 supervisors took care of the disabled athletes during training – on a voluntary basis, i.e. free of charge, but by no means in vain. One of the supervisors, Peter Gruber, emphasizes this: “We had an inn for over 30 years, which we sold a few years ago. We never had time for that before. And now that I have time, you learn to appreciate that nothing in life can be taken for granted. That’s why I’m happy to help with something like this on a voluntary basis. Because you get very satisfied when you see how people need support and how enthusiastic they are about it.”
Lungau cross-country days of the Special Olympics
Organizers want “completely normal handling”
The organizers are proud of the competition concept that was specially developed for the Lungau cross-country skiing days. The greatest wish of Norbert Planitzer, the director of the Lungau Cross-Country Days, is “to treat people as they are. Everyone wants to be treated the way I am treated, even if they are so-called disabled people. And that’s it: completely normal behavior. I want what I want. What I don’t want, I don’t allow or I don’t want to have. Very easily. Completely normal behavior – no distinctions.”
The qualifying runs follow on Wednesday, followed by the competition on Thursday. But even during training on Tuesday, every single one of the disabled athletes was a winner – and received a medal for it.