The Austrian Paralympic Team have been sworn in and given a send-off before the Tokyo 2020 games:
UniCredit Bank Austria wishes our Paralympic athletes every success
- Hosted this year in Tokyo, the Paralympic Games is the third-largest sporting event in the world, hosting 4400 athletes from 170 nations
- From 24 August to 5 September, 540 events will be contested in 22 sports
- Austria will be represented by 24 athletes in 8 sports
- UniCredit Bank Austria is a long-standing sponsor of the team and pioneer in terms of accessibility and inclusion
"As the largest bank in Austria, I am proud that we have been supporting the Austrian Paralympic Committee for many years", says Robert Zadrazil, Chairman of the Board of Management of UniCredit Bank Austria. "These athletes are setting a great example of how to persevere despite immense hurdles, how to push boundaries and achieve great success - especially against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic".
Austria will be represented in eight sports and celebrate a world first
Austria will be represented in eight sports: athletics, canoeing, cycling, equestrian, swimming, table tennis, triathlon and wheelchair tennis. With six athletes competing, the cycling team is the largest among the Austrian contingent.
The youngest Austrian competitor is Janina Falk, celebrating her Paralympic debut at the age of 18 and making history at the same time: The Viennese swimmer, who also has a vision impairment, will be the first Austrian athlete with an intellectual impairment to compete in the Paralympics.
A total of 11 Austrian athletes will be making their Paralympics debut in Tokyo. The oldest athlete in the line-up is wheelchair tennis player Martin Legner, who will be competing in his eighth Paralympics at the age of 59.
"I take my hat off to these top athletes, no matter which sport they play. Most people cannot imagine how hard it is even just to qualify to take part: the Paralympics is the pinnacle of the disability sports world", says Zadrazil. "So these elite athletes deserve the same recognition and excitement as their peers at the Olympics".
Off to Tokyo
On 22 July, the 24 athletes representing Austria at Tokyo 2020 were officially sworn in and given a send-off by Vice-Chancellor and Minister for Sport Werner Kogler, during a ceremony at the Vienna Marriott Hotel.
Commitment to equality and accessibility in everyday life
UniCredit Bank Austria has long been a sponsor of the Austrian Paralympic Committee, but is also the leading financial institution in Austria and across continental Europe in terms of inclusion and accessibility.
For years, UniCredit Bank Austria has gone beyond simply meeting the legal quota for employing people with disabilities - one of only 22 percent of Austrian companies to do so. The bank also offers practically all its services in a fully accessible form, for which it has already received several national and international awards.
An Austrian success story
The Paralympic Games for athletes with disabilities has been held regularly since 1960; it has been linked with the Olympic Games at an organisational level since 1992 and now takes place three weeks after the Olympics in the same city. Since the first Paralympics, Austrian athletes have won 695 medals: 216 gold, 238 silver and 241 bronze.
More information about the Austrian athletes at the Paralympics can be found at oepc.at
Further information on the accessible banking services at UniCredit Bank Austria can be found at https://www.bankaustria.at/barrierefrei
Photos can be used free of charge if the copyright ©EPC/GEPA-pictures is mentioned
• Photo 01 - the Austrian Paralympic Team attending Tokyo 2020
• Photo 02 - Vice Chancellor and Minister for Sport Werner Kogler with Paralympic athlete Günther Matzinger
Enquiries:
UniCredit Bank Austria Press Office
Volker Moser, Tel.: +43 (0)5 05 05 52854
Email: volker.moser@unicreditgroup.at