Following his spectacular triumph in the team event at the Nordic World Ski Championships on March 7, 2025, Oberstdorf Nordic combined athlete Wendelin Thannheimer can look forward to a very special honor: A gondola on the Söllereckbahn cable car has now been decorated with his image, thus adding to the list of successful winter athletes from Oberstdorf who are honored at the track.
Gold in Nordic Combined – a historic moment
With the victory in the men's relay at the World Championships in Trondheim, Norway, Wendelin Thannheimer and his teammates Johannes Rydzek, Julian Schmid, and Vinzenz Geiger crowned themselves this year's Nordic Combined World Champions – another milestone in Oberstdorf's impressive history of winter sports success. In recognition of his achievements, Thannheimer now joins the ranks of sporting greats such as Katharina Schmid, Karl and Vinzenz Geiger, Johannes Rydzek, Laura Gimmler, Sofie Krehl, and Alex and Julian Schmid – and will soon adorn one of the gondolas of the popular 10-person cable car at Söllereck.
Visible role model for young athletes
"We are proud that another young athlete from Oberstdorf has made the leap to the world's elite. With Wendelin Thannheimer, we are not only honoring a newly crowned world champion, but also a role model for our young athletes," said Klaus King, Mayor of Oberstdorf and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Oberstdorfer Bergbahn AG. "The visibility of such successes motivates the next generation – and that is precisely the idea behind the athlete cabins at Söllereck."
A lasting connection
Thannheimer himself was also moved: "The mountains around Oberstdorf are my home. This is where I made my first turns as a child and discovered my passion for sports. The fact that I now have my own cabin at the Söllereckbahn is a huge honor – and a moment I won't soon forget."
The idea of honoring successful athletes from the region with their own cabins has existed since 2021 and is being implemented in close cooperation with the municipality of Oberstdorf and the OBERSTDORF · KLEINWALSERTAL BERGBAHNEN. The Söllereckbahn, which is particularly popular with families and young athletes, is thus not only a means of transport, but also a rolling "Hall of Fame" of Oberstdorf winter sports.
