VIENNA - Vienna hosted the first-ever Tram Driver World Championship on Saturday, with the city's skilled drivers emerging victorious out of 25 teams from across the world battling it out in a tense competition.
"We are celebrating a very special anniversary today -- 160 years of trams in Vienna," said Elias Natmessnig of Vienna public transport, which organised the contest.
"To mark the occasion we decided that we would host the World Championship instead of (just) the European Championships and bring teams from six continents to the city."
Tram drivers faced off in eight challenges testing their ability to operate the heavy vehicles -- which weigh 30 or 42 tonnes depending on the model -- with precision, including braking and accelerating smoothly.
Audience favourites were tram bowling, featuring a giant ball that is used to knock down inflatable pins, and tram curling, where a bicycle trolley is pushed with such precision that it comes to a halt at a specific spot.
Many fans' eyes were on the reigning European champions from Budapest, who have serious pedigree after securing their third win in 2024.
But the Hungarian team could not defend the title, dropping to fourth place, as their Viennese competitors took home the crown. Poland came second and Norway secured third place.
Winning on home turf left Viennese entrant Florijan Isaku "overwhelmed" and "speechless".
"I don't know what to say. It's just great, and the Wiener Linien (Vienna's public transport operator), they're a family, and it just shows that," he said.
Already in the first round, Hungary's defending European champion Krisztina Schneider said that "curling was the most challenging task for me and I didn't really succeed as I would have liked".
"I thought my speed would be enough but in the end it wasn't."
On Friday, the drivers familiarised themselves with the controls of the Viennese trams used in the competition.
Organisers said they expected about 50,000 visitors from all over the world to attend the championship, which was being livestreamed.
Next year's European championships are due to take place in Warsaw, Poland.