Mountain and Trail Running WC 2023 in Innsbruck-Stubai: ÖLV Mountain Running Referee Helmut Schmuck is looking forward to the major event.
Next year, when he turns 60 (on April 7th) and when it’s the 20th anniversary of the end of his career as an active athlete, the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships (WMTRC 2023) will be staged in Tyrol from June 6 to 10. It is set to be a celebration of the running and mountaineering disciplines.
The Austrian mountain running giant and two-time World Champion Helmut Schmuck shares this impression with delegates from the three international federations in charge of organizing the event under the direction of the World Athletics (WA). During their delegation visit they found the routes as well as the designated venues in Neustift im Stubaital and in Innsbruck to be top-class. The same was true for the presentations and preparations in different areas such as accommodation, transport and catering, volunteer program, media, etc.
During the press conference, Schmuck, who hails from Salzburg and now resides in Styria, spoke highly of the preparations for the WC 2023. “The fact that the title races will be staged in Tyrol is sensational. As the Austrian Athletics Mountain Running Referee I am hoping for a strong team and maybe even a medal – there are four contests, and we will enter with entire teams. In terms of medals we are obviously banking on our six-time Mountain Running World Champion Andrea Mayr in the Vertical leading from Neustift to the Elferhütte. I expect this WC to be a strong impulse for our young talents in mountain running; at the U20 contest in Innsbruck they will be able to compete against the international elite on a demanding route.” Helmut Schmuck also finds praise for the organizing committee: “Alexander Pittl, head of the organizing committee, and his team are on a really good level already; the only thing that’s still required is some fine-tuning. The way things stand, the World Championships could be staged in several weeks’ time.”
