What do the two ski jumpers Karl Geiger and Katharina Althaus have in common with the Nordic combined athlete Vinzenz Geiger? That's right, they were all born in Oberstdorf, are successful top athletes, and Olympic and World Championship medalists. And from now on, their faces will be smiling from the cabins of the new Söllereckbahn cable car in Oberstdorf. The symbolic handover of the newly decorated gondolas to the athletes took place in a small ceremony on Monday, November 15th.
Motivation for the Young Talents
The idea for the decals on the cabins was developed in collaboration with the municipality of Oberstdorf: "We are delighted to honor our local athletes, all of whom earned and deserved medals at the 2021 World Championships in Oberstdorf, in this way. They delivered outstanding performances at our home World Championships, and we are very proud that such successful Olympic and World Championship medalists are based here. We are delighted that this can now also be seen on the new Söllereck cable car," says Klaus King, Mayor of Oberstdorf. The new 10-passenger cable car was not chosen by chance. "Many young athletes train at the Söllereck cable car – we want to motivate our young stars even more by having their idols visible!" explains Henrik Volpert, CEO of Oberstdorf Bergbahnen AG.
In the cabins of the gold stars
The athletes themselves are also delighted about this special honor. "We have a very strong connection with the OBERSTDORF · KLEINWALSERTAL BERGBAHNEN. We learned to ski in the mountains and thus laid the foundation for our careers," say Nordic skiers Karl and Vinzenz Geiger. Multiple ski jumping world champion Katharina Althaus is also delighted that her face will adorn a gondola in the future: "For me, it's another highlight after this rather special winter and motivates me to give it my all again this season," she explained during the handover ceremony. As a unique memento, the professional athletes will receive a mini version of the gondola as a souvenir.
