Johannes Strolz races with one ski pole but Austria still win gold in the mixed team parallel final
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ByEurosport
Published 20/02/2022 at 10:03 GMT
Johannes Strolz has enjoyed a memorable Winter Olympics. He won his third Olympic medal in the mixed team parallel final on Sunday despite losing a ski pole. He was axed from the Austrian team seven months ago following a string of poor results on the World Cup circuit and returned to being a traffic policeman, but he has fought back to win three medals in Beijing.
‘He has lost his ski pole!’ – Strolz LOSES pole in final, Austria still claim gold
Johannes Strolz lost one of his ski poles as he raced down the course at the Yanqing National Alpine Skiing Centre in the mixed team parallel final on Sunday, and still helped his team win the gold medal.
The Austrian, who won Olympic gold in the men's Alpine combined and secured a silver medal in the slalom, was part of a winning team that included Katharina Liensberger, Katharina Truppe and Stefan Brennsteiner.
The team went on to beat Germany in the final to seal Strolz's third Olympic medal, but for the 29-year-old it was not without a slight hitch.
Racing in the unfavourable red lane up against Alexander Schmid, Strolz lost one of his ski poles in the first section of the course.
"Strolz has lost a pole! Strolz has lost his ski pole!" Eurosport's Nick Fellows shouted on commentary.
Despite the disadvantage, the Austrian was still able to complete the course in 25.17 seconds; 1.30 seconds behind Schmid.
Austria held on for gold as Schmid's time was not quick enough to prevent the Austrians from winning their third alpine skiing gold at Beijing.
"It's a nice way to end the Olympics, with a medal," said Strolz, whose father also won Olympic gold in the combined in 1988.
It's been a remarkable turnaround for Strolz, who was axed from the Austrian World Cup team last year following a run of poor results. That meant he had to pay his own way to compete on the circuit and even went back to his duties as a traffic policeman back home. But he nevertheless earned his first World Cup victory in slalom in January to secure a spot on the mighty Austrian team in Beijing, and now he leaves the Games with two gold medals and a silver.
Liensberger, who also won slalom silver at the Games, said: "What Johannes showed at this Olympics is amazing.
"He had a really hard time and didn't know whether he could even get to the Olympics.
"He's a really good example, to never give up, always make one step after the other, focus on yourself."
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