The big highlight of the year for ten HSV Red Bull Salzburg athletes took place last week in the middle of the current World Cup season in parachute target jumping. At the World Championships in Tanay, Russia, recruit Sophie Grill and corporal Sebastian Graser won red-white-red bronze medals in the junior category.
Corporal Sebastian Graser was in contention for the world championship title in the juniors right from the start. However, he only just missed out on victory with third place in the “Accuracy” category behind a Belarusian, after being beaten by a Russian in an exciting jump-off for second place. In combination with his fourth place in the “Style” category, this resulted in fourth place overall in the juniors for the Elsbethner. “Unfortunately, I didn’t get off to a good start in the competition, and the time change and the long breaks in the weather didn’t make it any easier. I’m all the happier now that I was able to find my way into the competition better after the bad start and was able to show another good performance with third place in the jump-off,” said the 24-year-old, delighted with his bronze at the major event.
His teammate recruit Sophie Grill from Puch can also look forward to a medal. She took bronze at her first World Championships with a top performance. “I went into my first World Championships with no expectations at all and just wanted to deliver my usual performance and see how things developed from jump to jump. The fact that I’ve now finished on the podium is simply unimaginable for me after such a short time in this sport. Now I’m looking forward to the next World Cups and hope to build on this success,” said the 22-year-old, overwhelmed by her first World Cup success. In the women’s event, Thalgau corporal Julia Schosser finished sixth in the “Accuracy” category in a very strong field of 27 athletes thanks to a very solid performance.
