Kiesenhofer and Co. received by the Federal President – Philharmonic coins for the seven successful ÖOC starters.
Due to the great success in Tokyo, there was a big reception for the Federal President for the first time since 2008, even after returning from the Summer Olympics. Led by Olympic champion Anna Kiesenhofer, the medal winners were honored on Tuesday in the Vienna Hofburg by the head of state Alexander Van der Bellen. Of the seven precious metal winners, only judoka Michaela Polleres, who is abroad, was missing.
Van der Bellen, Minister of Sport Werner Kogler, Minister of Defense Klaudia Tanner and the ÖOC top appointed cycling sensation winner Kiesenhofer and Co. with hymns of praise and many appreciative words. The Federal President was particularly pleased with the medal from the Tyrolean Jakob Schubert in the new Olympic discipline of climbing, and he described the Kiesenhofer gold medal on the opening weekend as a pleasant shock.
Little desire for the limelight
Kiesenhofer, who works as a mathematician in Switzerland and who, as an amateur, duped the assembled world elite, does not really enjoy the unfamiliar hype around her person. “I'm not the type who likes to be in the spotlight,” said the Lower Austrian. Since her return from Japan, she has been inundated with media and sponsorship inquiries, she said. “I will sort out what is relevant for me and what is not. At the moment I am rummaging through a lot of emails,” said Kiesenhofer. But that doesn't stop them from training. “I can still have so many emails there.”
She spent the past two weeks in her home town of Niederkreuzstetten in the Weinviertel and also worked from the home office. On Wednesday it's back to Switzerland. She will not seek to join a professional team, but instead will only take part in selected races as a lone fighter and work at the University of Lausanne. “But maybe it is shifting more towards sport,” she also indicated more appearances in races.
As a reward for what he had achieved, Kiesenhofer received philharmonic coins worth 17,000 euros from ÖOC boss Karl Stoss. There are 13,000 silver medalists, Polleres, and the five bronzes Magdalena Lobnig, Bettina Plank, Shamil Borchashvili, Weißhaidinger and Schubert each received 11,000. ÖOC President Stoss emphasized that Austria can be incredibly proud of its athletes. “It deserves a celebration.”
Weißhaidinger with Defense Minister Tanner
Touched
Discus thrower Weißhaidinger was touched by the reception in the baroque ambience of the Hofburg. “This is definitely another very nice moment. This is the highest award and honor one can get. It is of course incredibly nice for an athlete to be congratulated by Austria from the highest level,” said Weißhaidinger.
After his return from Japan, the Upper Austrian enjoyed, among other things, a family celebration “with nice moments” with his loved ones. One or the other long-lasting celebration helped fight the jet lag, he joked. Immediately after winning the medal, he was still afraid to fall asleep and wake up knowing that it was all just a dream. But that quickly subsided. Now he's just happy that everything turned out so well.
Weißhaidinger wants to take part in the competitions in Andorf at home, in Zurich's Letzigrund Stadium and in Budapest this year. For climber Schubert, the World Championships in Moscow in September are among other things on the program.
