Benny Wizani: the Austrian trampolinist on the road to Paris 2024 with his ‘boy band’

Austria awaiting first male trampoline gymnast at an Olympic Games

A low-profile sport in Austria, the training facilities were such that sessions in the sports hall had to fit around the general public, with access limited to three sessions a week for two hours at a time – including the half hour it takes to set up the trampoline for the session and put it away again.

“There’s only a small time slot where we are really able to train,” Wizani continues, “so we need to take the most out of this one and a half hours, and when you only have that much time, you need to do all you can in that time.

By 2018, his persistence paid off with a bronze medal at the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the reward.

The 2019 season was the first as a professional athlete, courtesy of being part of the Austrian military that enables him to train. He also “trains a little in a German league”, but he’s always had the same coach.

“We have a really, really good relationship,” says Wizani of Wöber who has also been on a steep learning curve on the road to what it takes to be a coach that gets an athlete to an Olympic Games.

“A year ago, a project began with four passionate athletes and two coaches (Jakob Wallentin and myself – not so young) aiming to qualify for this prestigious competition,” posted Wöber on LinkedIn after Wizani had secured the spot. “As a hobby coach and full-time researcher, this journey underscored the remarkable results possible with a clear goal and an outstanding team.”

“They’re all doing this as a hobby and to have fun,” says Wizani post-competition. “They take vacation from their work to come here, and that has a really, really positive effect on me because then I’m just looking to have fun at the competitions and not to be too focused on the competition (itself).

“The last two years were pretty hard for me where I nearly fell off in every important competition,” he adds. “So this group just helped me a lot to get to the point where I am now. Without them, that wouldn’t be possible.”

Where he is now is likely heading to the Bercy Arena in France, for the trampoline competition that starts on Friday 2 August, courtesy of being the top-ranked male trampolinist from Austria, and therefore likely to be selected by his National Olympic Committee for the coveted spot he secured in Birmingham.

• As National Olympic Committees have the exclusive authority for the representation of their respective countries at the Olympic Games, athletes’ participation at the Paris Games depends on their NOC selecting them to represent their delegation at Paris 2024.
• Click here to see the official qualification system for each sport.