Nico Wiener: Inside an impressive sporting family

Nico Wiener’s historic feat in Saltillo as Austria’s first World Cup champion not only set a fantastic example to archers in the country, but also to his two younger siblings.

The 29-year-old spearheads an incredible familial sporting trio, with his sister Yvonne a track and field athlete who has competed in many disciplines at national level in Austria, most recently javelin.

Her most unusual achievement, however, is as the current women’s world record holder in mobile phone throwing – she threw one 67.58 metres in 2017.

The youngest of the three, Adam, also started out in track and field but is now a member of Austria’s four-man junior bobsled team and represented the country at the Junior World Championships for the first time in January.

Successful sporting families come around quite often, from the Manning family in American football to the Williams sisters in tennis. What makes the Wieners so interesting is that all three are performing at a high level in three completely different sports.

What they do have in common, though, is an extremely supportive set of parents – something Nico has made sure to credit throughout his season.

“Also, thanks to my father for supporting me as a coach and my mum for cheering from the stands,” said the Yankton 2021 World Archery Champion after taking his second top seed of the outdoor season in Antalya.

“I'm super thankful to my sponsor and my family for supporting me like crazy. Without them, it would not be possible to shoot tournaments every weekend and perform well.”

When it comes to supporting Nico, Wolfgang and Bettina have gone as far as travelling overseas to follow their son at competitions.

Wolfgang is a former archer himself and shot as recently as 2023 at the Umag European Grand Prix, when he and Nico were on the same team that won compound men’s team bronze. They also won gold together at the 2019 Veronica's Cup.

This year, Wolfgang travelled to Antalya twice to be his son’s main coach at the European Outdoor Championships and the World Cup there, as well as in Madrid.

“It feels like when we shoot at home, because we train almost every day at home,” he said when asked why it helps so much to have his father in the coaching box. “It feels like he knows what I need and he knows what I want from him, and it's worked out perfectly.”

As Nico mentioned, Bettina was also there – not as a coach, but simply to support him, showing the level of dedication the family has to his career.

Due to the cost of accommodation and flights, it is a rarity to see this level of consistent, in-person support.

In Saltillo, Wolfgang couldn’t make it, so Bettina stepped in to be Nico’s coach and the first person to join his memorable celebrations, which included plenty of shouting and fist pumping at Plaza de Armas after he defeated current world number one Mathias Fullerton 148-147 in the gold medal match.

“You need to celebrate it because it’s so tough to get to the World Cup Final and I was trying to enjoy every moment because I have some Mexican friends and family are here, especially my mum in the coach’s box.”

“She’s never done coaching before but she was amazing. It’s more emotional because when someone really close to you, like a family member, is in the box, it feels so much more amazing.”

There is more to what parents of athletes have to do to get them to places like Nico’s in archery, however, and it usually involves a lot of financial dedication.

When they first start, there are club and national federation fees, competition costs and, of course, their first pieces of equipment.

“They’ve sacrificed a lot for me to be here and I’m so thankful for my family,” added Nico in the post-match interview at Saltillo, which you can watch back on archery+. “Like when I didn’t have a driving licence, they’d drive me to competitions, buying me more equipment.”

“There’s three of us [children] and we all do sports.”

Behind a world-class athlete there is usually at least one person supporting them – a backbone that fits their schedule around theirs or sacrifices their own time to give them the best possible chance to succeed.

Nico Wiener, however, has an entire support network fuelling him – both parents, both siblings, his sponsors and, on top of all that, his girlfriend Andrea Maya Becerra Arizaga, the compound women’s world number one.

It’s what all athletes dream of having behind them, and Nico certainly never takes it for granted. They are the first people he credits when he steps onto the top podium – and for good reason.