World Vaulting Championship in Stadl Paura (AUT)

Ten Teams, 26 male and 42 female vaulters from 22 nations participated in the World Vaulting Championship which were held in Stadl Paura (AUT) from 4 to 8 August 2004.

A great achievement for the vaulting world was the participation of three new nations. For the first time since the World Vaulting Championship were established 18 years ago, athletes from Japan (Aska Inoue), Colombia (Manuela Posada) and South Africa (Isaac Kesebile) participated.

The Austrian city of Stadl Paura was hosting the world Championship for the first time, in the "Österreichisches Pferdezentrum Stadl Paura."

The German team from Ingelsberg was eager to win its third gold medal in a row after Jerez 2002 and Mannheim 2000. Germany led the competition from the start to finish with a score of 8,014 points and the coveted title, ahead of Switzerland (7,471 points) and USA (7,205 points).

Germany and Denmark were the biggest contenders for the individual medals. The world´s most successful vaulter, Nadia Zülow (GER) having ended her career last year, the field was open for an exciting battle between the German and the Danish female vaulters. Nicola Ströh (GER) with Centuro with 8,513 points won the gold medal, followed by Rikke Laumann (DEN) with 8,451 points. Bronze went to Ines Jückstock (GER) with 8,290 points.

The current title holder Matthias Lang (FRA) was one of the favourites for Individual Male category. Lang had announced his retirement from competition last year before reappearing at Vaulting World Cup in Munich (GER) earlier this year. It came as an even greater surprise that the German Male vaulters grabbed two of the three medals at stake. Kai Vorberg (GER) offered Germany its third gold medal with Picasso (8,793 points). Matthias Lang (FRA) who scored 8,617 points had to settle for silver while bronze went to Jan Bayer (GER) with 8,537 points.