LA LOUPE Lech Zürs No.5 Winter

me was the Olympic Champions’ monument in Lech’s school courtyard. Back
when I was a pupil there I used to look up at it every day and think: I want my
name to be on there one day! And I did it. Today my name is on the same plate
as those of my role models.
Sport & Freizeit
L.L. ⁄ Where do you keep your gold medal?
P.O. ⁄ I didn’t want a standard showcase; I had a beautiful statue designed
that now presents the medal in the hotel’s lobby. The pyramid’s basis is made
from a rock from the mountain in France where the race took place. A regional
artist made it into a small work of art. I pass it every day and I still like it!
L.L. ⁄ What was the transition from professional athlete to hotelier like for you?
P.O. ⁄ Well it was no abrupt change, the way I managed my time simply
changed. I always used to live here, even during my active career I was always
in Lech and in summer I often worked here. This way I grew into my parents’
business and learned everything from the bottom up. As time went by I took
over more and more tasks and thus the transition was rather fluid. I now live
here with my family, my wife works here too. We do it together and we like it!
L.L. ⁄ Are there moments when you wish you could go back to training and
skiing?
P.O. ⁄ Luckily we do live right by the slope. Which means that skiing is a fixed
point in my day. I try to ski for at least 1-2 hours each day. When I experience
the conditions personally it’s easier to communicate them to the guests. The
thing is: the entire village lives off of winter sports, which is why us people
from Lech need to live the sport too. I try to talk to as many locals as possible
and emphasize how skiing is the greatest and best thing! Of course other, more
modern kinds of sports have their place too but here in Lech skiing simply is
our elixir of life. And that’s where we need to set an example for the guests too!
L.L. ⁄ So far you are Lech’s last Olympic Champion. Would you dare to make a
prediction as to when we can expect the next one?
P.O. ⁄ That’s hard to say, when the next one will be there. Skiclub Arlberg puts a
lot of very professional effort into training young athletes and preparing them
for big things. We’re on the right track and we have a compact, good team that
may be at the very top in Pyeongchang in 2018. With a bit of luck anything’s
possible! We get a lot of support from Lech and I’m thankful for it because it’s
not something you can take for granted. But, as I said: it’s all about skiing!
That’s the position we’re in and that’s how we can present ourselves!
All quotes taken from
the book: ‚Goldene
Zeiten. Vorarlberg
– Land der Olympiasieger’,
published by
Silberball PR & Event
GmbH/Michael
Dünser, 2010.
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