Pfeil runs to the title with record, Rattinger takes gold

Two titles and a silver medal are the haul of the LAC BMD Amateure Steyr runners from last weekend. At the state championships over 5000 meters in Vöcklabruck, the former top marathon runner Valentin Pfeil proved that he is not past his prime: the Steyr native won the state title in 14:45.42 minutes. With this time he also set a new M35 Upper Austria record.

Club colleague Viona Knoll also did well in the 800 meter competition: she came second in 2:17.65 minutes. Florian Huemer ran a personal best of 2:07.66 minutes over 800 meters and came ninth.

Tobias Rattinger used his top form of the past few weeks to his advantage at the Balkan Games in Izmir, Turkey. The Steyr native won the 3000 meter steeplechase in 8:36.72 minutes and confidently defended his title. Rattinger set the pace for almost the entire race and shook off his two Turkish competitors on the last lap. With the 100 bonus points, the 26-year-old should now have secured his place at the European Championships in Rome.

“I am very happy to have won the title again,” said Rattinger, “the time was not quite as fast as I had hoped, but unfortunately the two Turks did not set the pace. That is why I controlled the race and tried to run the obstacles cleanly. With the long final sprint I won relatively comfortably.”