With the Mountain and Trail Running World Championships in Thailand being history, the focus is now on the title races to be held in Tyrol from June 6 to 10, 2023
The ceremony was simple as well as tried and tested: At the end, it was not the hosts of the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Chiang Mai, Thailand, but Alexander Pittl, head of the organizing committee for the WC 2023 in Innsbruck-Stubai holding the World Athletics flag when a well-known fact was made public once again: After the World Championships is always before the World Championships.
The next edition will be held in Tyrol in exactly seven months’ time, and in order to be ideally prepared, a seven-strong Austrian delegation was present at the title races in Asia. Representatives of the tourism associations in Innsbruck and Stubai as well as the organizing committee came to see how the Thai organizers dealt with logistical or organizational challenges and with communications during the first ever major event of this type (it was the first time that mountain running and trail running contests were combined in one event); they spoke to prominent representatives of the international federations, to members of the local organizing committee and members of the media, but also to functionaries and athletes from national federations. Participants from near and far were in agreement: The trip to Thailand was worth it; the organizers did many things right - for instance when it came to routing, accommodations or transport.
WC Managing Director Alexander Pittl concurs: “We all know that it isn’t easy to organize a major sports event. I’d like to thank our Thai friends who pulled off an exemplary WMTRC edition and who have set the bar high. Obviously, a lot of things will be different in Innsbruck, starting with the route layout or the climatic conditions, but the overall challenges related to staging an event that will leave no wishes unattended remains.”
“The images from Thailand are made to whet one’s appetite. I am certain that the images we are going to see from Tyrol next year will be unique and draw the viewer's attention to the outstanding conditions that our mountains offer for runners,” stresses Tirol Werbung CEO Karin Seiler.
Roland Volderauer, Stubai Tirol Tourism CEO , adds: “I was able to experience the organization and execution of the first ever Mountain and Trail Running World Championships together with my responsible project managers David Wallner and Andreas Stern. Apart from being able to gather valuable insights, this also allowed us to expand our contacts with international stakeholders and national sports federations alike. Together with our partners, we are looking forward to a successful World Championships in 2023.”
Christoph Stock, Innsbruck Tourism Deputy General Manager, says: “By attending the first edition of this major international sports event, my colleague Julia Zraunig and myself were able to gather valuable experiences and get in direct contact with national and international sports federations, many of whom signaled that they were really looking forward to the next WC in Innsbruck-Stubai and were planning on sending appropriate delegations, which is why we are expecting a high number of athletes and, respectively, a high number of overnight stays in the region.”
It goes without saying that the Austrian participants at the WC in Thailand were cheered on too, with the entire delegation celebrating Andrea Mayr’s medal when she came second in the Vertical.
