Exciting finals on the last day of the European Championships
The European Icestock Championships in Waldkraiburg/GER ended on Saturday, March 9, 2024 with thrilling final decisions in the women’s and men’s team play events. Almost 1000 fans once again turned the packed Waldkraiburg arena into a madhouse.
Austria European Champion again after 2017
The Austrian men’s team beat the German team 11-4 in the final and brought the title back to Austria after a long time. In the final, Germany relied on the entire TSV Hartpenning team with Stefan Zellermayer, Matthias Paischer, Stefan Thurner and Andreas Lambert. The Austrians took a quick 5-1 lead after five turns. The final decision came in the ninth turn after a mistake by Germany, which the Austrians took advantage of to go 8:3 ahead. Stefan Gamper, Patrick Solböck, Christian Hobl, Stefan Schwarzl and Martin Laffer win gold with an 11:4 victory against eternal rivals Germany. After 2017 in Pisek/CZE, where Christian Hobl and Martin Laffer were already part of the team, Austria has once again won the title in the most prestigious discipline. Italy takes the bronze medal ahead of the team from the Czech Republic. Before the Italien women team won gold ahead of Germany and Austria.
Germany most successful nation
The nations ranking ended with a narrow victory for the German team. Germany and Austria won a total of eight medals – but Germany came out on top with one silver medal more.
Nations ranking
1. Germany 3 x gold, 4 x silver, 1 x bronze Total 8
2. Austria 3 x gold, 3 x silver, 2 x bronze Total 8
3. Italy 1 x gold, 2 x silver Total 4
4. Switzerland 2 x bronze Total 2
Target competitions in German and Austrian hands
Stefan Zellermayer (GER) and Sophie Schmutzer (AUT) win the singles competitions. Germany wins both team competitions ahead of Austria. As at the 2022 World Championships, the Austrians win the team mixed competition. Switzerland wins a bronze medal in the men’s team competition and a bronze medal in the team mixed competition, making it two medals in total.
Stefan Zellermayer most successful athlete
The most successful athlete at the competitions in Waldkraiburg was the German Stefan Zellermayer. He leaves Waldkraiburg with two gold and two silver medals in his luggage. The Austrian Sophie Schmutzer also has a lot of luggage to carry home: two gold, one silver and one bronze medal.
Bavaria’s Prime Minister Dr. Markus Söder attends the closing ceremony:
“Great European Icestock Championships in Waldkraiburg. I was happy to attend the award ceremony today. Congratulations to the winning teams from Austria in the men’s and Italy in the women’s team play. Unfortunately, Germany only managed second place in both categories. Nevertheless, congratulations on this strong performance. Thanks to the organisation them of Waldkraiburg and the many volunteers for a great tournament!”
IFI President Christian Lindner draws a positive conclusion:
“The European Championships were a great success. On behalf of the IFI, I would like to express my sincere thanks to the entire organizing team in Waldkraiburg. We saw a perfectly organized European Championship with many great performances. Furthermore, I would like to mention the live broadcasts. The cooperation with the Bavarian Broadcasting Company (BR) and Fantastic-Ice-Stock-TV was extremely successful.”
Final day of European Championship in Waldkraiburg 2024
