August 8, 2026
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Elite Athletics · Season ArchiveNo. 39 · Season Series
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Doha · World Championships · 27 Sep – 6 Oct 2019
Inside Pro Elite · Season Series
Austria · Season by Season

Austria
2019

Two bronzes in ninety-six hours — one of them thrown with a training discus — and the first time Austria had ever taken two medals from a single World Championships.

Austria won two medals at the Doha 2019 World Championships, four days apart: Lukas Weißhaidinger's discus bronze at 66.82 on 30 September — the first medal by an Austrian man at these championships — and Verena Preiner's heptathlon bronze with 6560 on 3 October. It had never happened before.

This is the season inside the bracket: the discus thrown with the training implement, the long jump that held a heptathlon medal together, the Austrian record still standing — and the Erima Austria 2019 kit, one piece of which is in this archive.

Part of our Season Series — one year at a time. The full national story is in The History of Athletics in Austria. Jump to the 2019 kit or browse the collection.

Austria 2019 — key factsVerified · updated August 2026
The championships
Doha, 27 Sep – 6 Oct 2019
The first
First time Austria won two medals at one World Championships
Discus bronze
Weißhaidinger 66.82 (30 Sep) — first Austrian man ever to medal
The implement
He threw with his training discus: the judges declared his match one damaged
Discus podium
Ståhl 67.59 · Dacres 66.94 · Weißhaidinger 66.82 — 77 cm gold to bronze
Heptathlon bronze
Preiner 6560 (3 Oct), behind Johnson-Thompson's British-record 6981 and Thiam's 6677
The record
Ratingen, June: 6591, the Austrian record — still standing in 2026
Kit
Erima — Austria's outfitter 2013–2024
01

Two Medals in Ninety-Six Hours

Austria had never taken two medals from a single World Athletics Championships. In Doha, it took four days. On 30 September, Lukas Weißhaidinger threw 66.82 in the discus for bronze — the first Austrian man ever to medal at these championships. On 3 October, Verena Preiner scored 6560 for heptathlon bronze. Ninety-six hours, and the whole national record book rewritten.

The two bronzes (table)
EventDetail
Discus, 30 SepWeisshaidinger 66.82 — series 66.74 / X / 66.82 / X / 63.74 / 66.35; the medal came in round three
Discus podiumStåhl (SWE) 67.59 · Dacres (JAM) 66.94 · Weißhaidinger 66.82 — 77 cm from gold to bronze
The discus itselfHe threw with his training implement after the judges declared his match discus damaged
Heptathlon, 3 OctPreiner 6560 — her long jump (6.36, personal best) held the bronze together
Heptathlon podiumJohnson-Thompson (GBR) 6981, a British record · Thiam (BEL) 6677 · Preiner 6560
The recordFirst time Austria won two medals at one World Championships; Weißhaidinger was the first Austrian man ever to medal

The discus is the better story of the two, because of what he threw with. The judges declared Weißhaidinger's match discus damaged, so he competed with his training implement — and produced 66.82 in the third round, 77 centimetres behind Daniel Ståhl's winning 67.59 and 12 behind Fedrick Dacres. His series reads 66.74, foul, 66.82, foul, 63.74, 66.35: two fouls and a bronze medal.

Lukas Weißhaidinger throwing the discus at the 2018 Leichtathletik Gala in Linz
Weißhaidinger in the circle — here at the Linz gala of 2018, the season before the Doha bronze. Photo: Isiwal — Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
02

Preiner’s First, and the Year Behind It

Verena Preiner's bronze came in the heptathlon Katarina Johnson-Thompson won with a British-record 6981, with Nafissatou Thiam second at 6677. Preiner's 6560 was her first global medal, and the event that held it together was the long jump: 6.36, a personal best, in the middle of the two days.

Verena Preiner racing the 800 metres of the heptathlon at the Doha 2019 World Championships
The closing 800 of the Doha heptathlon — Preiner (right) on her way to bronze behind Johnson-Thompson. Photo: filip bossuyt, Kortrijk — Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.

Doha did not come from nowhere. In June, at the Ratingen combined-events meeting, she had scored 6591 with personal bests in six of the seven disciplines — the Austrian record, and still the Austrian record in 2026. She closed the year by winning the IAAF Combined Events Challenge. She competes today as Verena Mayr, and is still on the circuit.

Erima Austria Pro Elite 2019 T-ShirtFrom this season · in the archiveErima Austria Pro Elite 2019 T-ShirtErima Austria team tee from the 2019 allocation — the kit of the best week Austrian athletics has had at a World Championships.100,00 €View piece →
03

The Erima Austria 2019 Kit

Austria wore Erima from 2013 to 2024 — a long, quiet partnership that covers this entire chapter, including the best week the country has had at a World Championships. The piece we hold from the 2019 allocation is the team tee.

Erima outfitted the Austrian team from 2013 through 2024; the 2019 allocation sits at the centre of that era. We date the piece from its own labels.

The longer story — the throwers, the mountains, a federation the size of a large club — is in our history of athletics in Austria.

Austria 2019 flag

Austria 2019

One piece from the Austrian team's 2019 allocation — the Erima team tee from the best week the country has had at a World Championships.

1 piece from the 2019 cycle in the archive · 1 in stock
Frequently Asked Questions

How many medals did Austria win at the 2019 World Championships?

Two bronzes, four days apart: Lukas Weißhaidinger in the discus (66.82) and Verena Preiner in the heptathlon (6560). It was the first time Austria had won two medals at a single World Athletics Championships.

Is it true Weißhaidinger won his medal with a training discus?

Yes — the judges declared his match discus damaged, so he competed with his training implement and threw 66.82 in the third round for bronze.

Does Preiner's Austrian heptathlon record still stand?

Yes. She scored 6591 at Ratingen in June 2019, with personal bests in six of the seven disciplines, and it remains the Austrian record in 2026. She competes today as Verena Mayr.

What kit did Austria wear in 2019?

Erima, which outfitted the Austrian team from 2013 to 2024. The Austria collection holds the team tee of the 2019 allocation.

Sources and References

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