In November of last year, three cabins of the Söllereckbahn cable car were decorated for the first time with the faces of outstanding athletes from Oberstdorf – Katharina Althaus, as well as Karl and Vinzenz Geiger, were already delighted to see their smiling faces adorning the gondolas at Söllereck last early winter. After the Winter Olympics in Beijing, however, not only these three athletes received a few more medals – three more athletes are now being honored for their fantastic performances on the cabins.

One gold, two silver, and two bronze medals have been adorning the existing "athlete cabins" for a few days now. Sofie Krehl (cross-country skiing), Alex Schmid (alpine skiing), and Julian Schmid (Nordic combined) are three more faces of Oberstdorf's sporting world, along with additional medals. The symbolic handover of the newly or enhanced gondolas to the athletes took place on Tuesday, March 29, 2022.

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 winter sports athletes, all of whom have earned and earned medals at the 2021 World Championships in Oberstdorf and the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, in this way. They have achieved outstanding performances at these major sporting events, among others, and we are very proud that such successful Olympic and World Championship medalists call Oberstdorf home," says Klaus King, Mayor of Oberstdorf. The Söllereck's 10-person gondola lift was not chosen by chance. "Many young athletes train at the Söllereck – we want to motivate our young stars even more by giving their idols visibility!" 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 on the mountains and thus laid the foundation for our careers," say Nordic skiers Karl and Vinzenz Geiger. Silver medalist Alex Schmid is also delighted that his picture will soon be featured on a Söllereck gondola: "I'm delighted that the OBERSTDORF · KLEINWALSERTAL BERGBAHNEN adorn my helmet on one side, and I now have a gondola on the other side at the Söllereck," he explained during the handover ceremony.

As a unique memento, the professional athletes will receive a miniature version of the gondola
as a souvenir.