Walter Holzner

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Walter Holzner (born October 27, 1966 in Kufstein , † October 25, 2007 in Innsbruck ) was an Austrian marksman and Paralympic participant.

Holzner grew up in Kufstein. After an apprenticeship as a car mechanic, he worked for the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) in Wolfurt . August 1987 Holzner had a serious motorcycle accident as a result of which he suffered paraplegia . After his stay in the rehabilitation center in Bad Häring , he continued his work at the ÖBB, but was now working for them in Kufstein. Here he got to know the state sports warden for disabled sports and was persuaded by him to engage in shooting sports.

After initial difficulties and joining the Ebbs shooting guild, Holzner achieved his first successes at the Tyrolean championships in 1997. This was followed by championship titles at the state championships. Holzner has now been appointed to the national team. At the 2002 World Championships in Seoul he won the bronze medal in the free rifle with the team and also achieved two fourth places with the air rifle in the individual and in the team. He won gold at the European Championships in Brno in 2003 . Because of his sporting success he was awarded the Golden Merit of the Republic of Austria and his hometown Kufstein voted him Sportsman of the Year.

In 2004 Holzner took part in the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens . He also won other national championships and Tyrolean championships. At the European Championships in Suhl , he won his first individual gold medal in the “Falling Target” competition. He was also the reigning European champion in shooting / rifle R1 with the team and two-time vice European champion in the R1 and R7 team. After his health deteriorated during the European Championships and Holzner complained of a headache, he died unexpectedly in October 2007 after a brief, serious illness in a hospital in Innsbruck.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ List of all state awards awarded in the field of sport since around 1954 (PDF, 308 kB; accessed on November 29, 2010)
personal data
SURNAME Holzner, Walter
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian disabled athlete and marksman
DATE OF BIRTH October 27, 1966
PLACE OF BIRTH Kufstein
DATE OF DEATH October 25, 2007
Place of death innsbruck