Chronicle

Beginning and development of the handicapped sport in Abtenau

It was the autumn of the year 1970, when two disabled veterans called Brunner and Haagen visited Abtenau to ask for an organization of an alpine skiing competition. The so called USV, which is nowadays the Sportunion in Abtenau spontaneously, agreed this suggestion.

But the specific beginning of handicapped sport was in January of the following year. During this time a lot of disabled veterans built their pieces of apparatus under primitive conditions. Person with amputated legs for example, took old skis, cut them off and fixed them on crutches. All the participants were pretty happy with the organization of this event. As far as the Sportunion in Abtenau is concerned it should be said that they got very enthusiastic about the excellent job, which these disabled veterans did. Therefore another following event was organized in the next years.

But nevertheless this sport developed a little bit sluggish. In 1982, in progress of the first Austrian championships, Abtenau decided to arrange an alpine and nordic competition.

Markus Ramsauer, Olympic champion
Concerning these competitions it is very important to say that there was also a very successful athlete from Abtenau. Markus Ramsauer, born in 1952, lost his right lower leg after an accident with his moped in the year 1969. Till this time he was a passionate skier but this fateful incident seemed to be the end of his ski career. After years of problems and turbulences, Ramsauer became a skier again, but with the only difference that his lower leg was amputated now. He even won the gold medal in the giant slalom in Geilo, Norway, what was since these days his greatest success. Therefore, Ramsauer got a very high award from the former head of the province Salzburg, Dr. Wilfried Haslauer. In the course of time Ramsauer’s job perspectives became better and better and so the qualified mechanic could work in a telephone office for the provincial government in Salzburg. After some successful years and after some exams, Ramsauer soon became chief of an office in the health center in Hallein.

But a horrible relapse followed in the year 1997, when cancer in progressive phase was diagnosed in Ramsauer’s body. He decided to fight with all his courage and determination against this illness, but unfortunately without success. Markus Ramsauer passed away on December 22th in the same year.

While he fought against this horrible illness, the International Olympic Comitee (IOC) decided which city should become the Olympic winter games in the year 2006. For the first time the IOC declared that the place of competitions of handicapped sport should be independent of all the other sorts of Olympic winter games. Concerning this declaration, it should be said that this was mainly the achievement of Ramsauer. And so, the Olympic winter games went to Kärnten for the first time in history.

The last months in Ramsauer’s life were very labor – intensive, because world cup competitions for handicapped sportsmen were determined in Abtenau in the early days of December. Ramsauer still tried to help with all his enthusiasm to this sport to arrange very good competitions. All the conferences in which he was included were held after his appointments of chemotherapy and so he thought that he would see the best athletes in this sport ones more. But this wasn’t the fact because all the competitions had been cancelled, due to a very bad weather. The competitions were fetched later in January, when Ramsauer was still passed away.

Concerning the time after being a successful athlete, Ramsauer worked as an official in the handicapped sport association.

Matthias Höll, Austrian national ski team, Austrian Championships in tennis
Since a couple of years, there’s another representative of Abtenau in handicapped sports. Matthias Höll, born in 1967, lost his right lower leg after an accident with an elevator in the company of his parents. Höll, which was an absolute great athlete in skiing, tennis and soccer before his horrible accident, is going to become a significant representative in the handicapped sport scene. In the year 2006, during the Olympic winter games, for example, he was one of the most important Austrian athletes in Turin. His probably best sport is tennis, where Höll was Austrian champion for thirteen times. He is now married and father of two daughters. Moreover he took over the parental company and he fetched later the evening classes.

Out of these descriptions you can see that these two guys, Ramsauer and Höll, have not only reached their aims in their sport careers, but they have also been very successful in their job and in their private lifes.

Disabled sport belongs to top sport
As in all sports, in these three decades has changed a lot, but here noticably a lot more.
On the one hand because of the integration in the SLSV and further in the ÖSV and on the other hand because of the worldwide coordination of the FIS.
The finacial and structural conditions, the infrastructure, the access to the best material, press, PR, sponsors - only to mention a few – are now equivalent in standard to the regular sport.
Also the classement has been aproved. In former times there existed a lot of different classes. Since a few years some reorganizations are tested in the WC. There are three different classes now: standing, seated, blind. This three classes are also valid at the Olympic games for the first time.

Because of the sport the status and acceptance of handicapped people in our society has changed and improved a lot. That’s the most important ever and Abtenau has made a small contribution to this.

In this connection it should be mentioned, that in the past only a few cities were interessted in a cooperation with the Austrian disabled sport association.
In the corse of time a lot of famous winter sport cities applied for the world cup. But the relevant gentlemen in the association decided that they give priority to Abtenau in future placings, because Abtenau was involved since the beginning of the disabled sport.
Since last winter also a cablecar is available in Abtenau, which is suitable for the disabled. Also the public and the hotels are interested to make infrastructure suitalbe for the disabled.

Abtenau is already looking forward to the next world cup in January 2008!