An accident in an Italian coastal city took the life of an athlete.
Sabaudia is a familiar training environment for the Austrian national team. Christian Seifriedsberger was there for the eighth year. ZumaWire / MVPHOTOS
Winner of the world junior rowing championship Christoph Seifriedsberger, 26, has died in a traffic accident in Italy. Corriero Della Sera reported on the matter, among others.
As an epiphany, Seifriedsberger, who was on a bicycle run with seven of his teammates and was riding on the tail of the hose, suffered fatal injuries when a Lancia car overtaking the truck collided with the Austrian at full speed. Doctors arrived to perform first aid, but the man could no longer be saved.
The 30-year-old woman who was driving the car has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter.
The Austrian rowing team, which arrived in the Sabaudia region of central Italy to train on Boxing Day, stopped their camp immediately after the tragedy and headed home to Austria. Crisis assistance has been offered to athletes.
The Olympics as a dream
Seifriedsberger won the World Championship gold in the coxless four in 2016. The merit list of the man who lived in Vienna also includes fourth place in the same class at the 2020 European Championships.
Seifriedsberger’s former coach Kurt Sandhaugl told Kronen Zeitung that the rower’s big dream was to represent his country at the Paris Olympics.
– The rowing family is in shock due to this indescribably tragic accident. Our deepest sympathies go out to the victim’s relatives, the Austrian Rowing Federation stated in its press release.
In addition to his sports career, Seifriedsberger had time to further his studies. In May, he graduated with a master’s degree in economics and international trade from the University of Berkeley.
MTV was the first to report on Seifriedsberger’s death in Finland.