The Lochner weight lifters start the new season with the “open club championship” on Friday, February 17, at 4 p.m. in the Ing. Peter Schnabl Halle in Lochen am See. 33 athletes from Lochen, Ranshofen and Buchkirchen will be at the start – including 18-year-old Lena Raidel from Straßwalch, 29-year-old Petra Schmutzer from Salzburg (state champion 2022) and 24-year-old Jakob Weber (Austrian U23 runner-up 2022). “The competition will be the first assessment of where you stand, especially for the youngsters. For top lifters like Lena Raidel and Jakob Weber, it will be a form check before the Bundesliga competition two weeks later,” says Rudolf Kobler, Lochner’s head coach.
Bundesliga kick-off on March 4th
In the first round of the Bundesliga, WKG Innviertel Lochen/Ranshofen, runner-up of the year 2022, welcomes reigning champion SK Vöest Linz on March 4th. In the previous year, the Innviertler lost in the preliminary round to the Linzers in a very close competition with 1:2. SK Vöest Linz is the clear favorite again this time. After all, the club has strengthened itself with Julian Heidenbauer, ÖGV squad athlete and seventh in the U23 European Championships in the 109 kilogram class, via a team loan contract from AC ASKÖ Feldkirchen.
On the Innviertler side, Christiane Schröcker, who is only in the start-up phase after her operation in November last year, Jakob Maislinger and Florian Reisecker are missing. WKG Innviertel will start with Sarah Fischer, Lena Raidel, Patrick Dürnberger, Phillip Borsch, Matthias Perik and Jakob Weber.
The regional league competition between the third team of WKG Innviertel and WKG Kraftwerk Salzburg will take place on March 4th at 4 p.m.
Source: Nachrichten
