Silvretta Montafon immortalises Alessandro Hämmerle's Olympic victory

St. Gallenkirch (A). In addition to his sporting successes, Montafon native Alessandro ‘Izzi’ Hämmerle can now also look forward to having his ‘own’ Valisera Bahn gondola. Silvretta Montafon dedicated it to him on the occasion of his greatest triumph to date, the gold medal at the Olympic Games in Beijing in February 2022. Together with numerous well-wishers and guests of honour, the new gondola was ceremoniously handed over to the most successful Montafon winter sports athlete at the valley station in St. Gallenkirch on Friday, 15 April.

Snowboard pro Alessandro Hämmerle is one of the most successful winter sports athletes in Vorarlberg. At the Olympic Games in Beijing in February 2022, the multiple overall World Cup winner crowned his sporting achievements with the gold medal in snowboard cross. Alessandro Hämmerle - or better known as ‘Izzi’ Hämmerle - is a winter sportsman and Montafon native with close ties to the region and Silvretta Montafon. With a branded, dedicated gondola as part of the new Valisera cable car in St. Gallenkirch, the company congratulates the 28-year-old model athlete on his greatest sporting success to date. ‘We are very proud of Alessandro Hämmerle and would like to use this gondola to congratulate him on his outstanding performance in Beijing and in the World Cup. With his successes, he leads the strong Montafon family of athletes and is therefore a great sporting role model for many here in the valley and beyond,’ says a delighted Peter Marko, Managing Director of Silvretta Montafon. 

Ceremonial handover
The handover of the gondola took place on Friday 15 April in a festive setting at the valley station of the Valisera mountain railway. In addition to Peter Marko, representing the entire Silvretta Montafon team, and Micheal Junginger, Head of Marketing at Montafon Tourismus, Mayor Daniel Sandrell (Gaschurn) and Deputy Mayor Alexander Kasper (St. Gallenkirch) also congratulated the new Vorarlberg Sportsman of the Year. ‘Izzi and his entire family really are a great asset to us here in the Montafon. We take our hats off to his achievements and appreciate his approachable, likeable manner and, above all, the fact that he has always remained close to his friends and the people in the valley and in the village,’ said the two village heads in unison. The children and representatives of the St. Gallenkirch winter sports club and the Gaschurn ski club as well as numerous fans and winter sports enthusiasts were also delighted to attend the event. The ‘Izzi gondola’ now runs on the new, modern Valisiera cable car, Austria's first autonomously operated 10-passenger gondola lift. The cable car is an essential part of the Silvretta Park Montafon, which only opened in December and is the largest and most recent investment project in the history of Silvretta Montafon.