A competition, many tears and even more anger. The Olympic premiere of mixed ski jumping ends in chaos, for Katharina Althaus with a broken heart. A main culprit has been identified. However, there are also headwinds from the inspectors.
Katharina Althaus is crying, her teammates give her a comforting hug. Sara Takanashi has to be supported while walking, the Japanese woman is shaking too much from crying fits. Karl Geiger cheers after his successful jump, then he looks completely confused at the scoreboard, which shows the end for the German team. Frustrated, he sits on the bench, Ryoyu Kobayashi, who is also affected, pats his shoulder sympathetically.
The pictures of yesterday’s Olympic day from the ski jump continue to have an effect. Tears and crying spells are followed by disbelief and anger. The Olympic premiere for mixed ski jumping ends in disaster. What is supposed to be a sign of more diversity and togetherness – the competition that will finally give women a second Olympic appearance – is getting completely out of control on the normal hill in Zhangjiakou.
The reason for this is precisely the control. Althaus, Takanashi, the Austrian Daniela Iraschko-Stolz and the two Norwegians Silje Opseth and Anna Odine Ström were penalized during the suit inspection. These are against the rules, according to the rule guards Mika Jukkara and Agnieszka Baczkowska. Norway, Austria, Japan and Germany missed out on a medal as a result. The four-time world champion in this discipline, Germany, even the second round.
“160 World Cup starts, five World Championships, three Olympic Games: And now I’ve been disqualified for the first time. My heart is broken,” Althaus wrote on Instagram. She had previously criticized harshly: “You destroyed women’s ski jumping with it. Our names are all there now and we pulled the arse card. That destroys nations, funding and the whole sport unfair.”
“Not the Right Man”
And not only the athletes and their respective nations complain about the treatment. “It was a disaster!” Joseph Gratzer told the “Tiroler Tageszeitung”. The Austrian can assess that, for many years he was a material controller in ski jumping. “I have the impression that he wants to change everything from one day to the next and organize the control activities differently,” he attacked his successor Jukkara. “For me, he’s not the right man on the pitch at the moment, I guess you were wrong,” Gratzer concluded.
He compared the events of yesterday with his own time in charge, which ended last season: “Our premise has always been: Material control should never be the focus in a competition. It is a marginal phenomenon that guarantees fairness and equal opportunities. That obviously failed in this case.”
The former men’s national coach, Werner Schuster, also criticized the processes: “A great opportunity was missed. For the first time a mixed competition at the Olympics – and then you make such decisions. That comes across very badly,” he said at Eurosport. The world association FIS failed to coordinate in advance and to act properly together. “My hope is that this jump is an occasion to go back over the books and ask: How do we get more transparency? But at the same time: How do we advertise the sport?” Men’s national coach Stefan Horngacher had spoken of a “punch and judy show”.
Former ski jumping star Martin Schmitt said about Jukkara at Eurosport: “He can disqualify anyone and can also prove that. He’s right. You really can’t blame him.” Every expert knows that the Finn handles his job differently than Gratzer. In addition, the FIS should “consider whether to use the men’s inspector for the women”. Althaus reported that she had been checked out more thoroughly than ever before. She spent about 20 minutes checking. She has the impression that people searched “until something was found”.
“Big like the Tyrolean tent rental”
Baczkowska is officially responsible for the women, and has been for years. “It was my toughest day in ten years as a materials controller,” said the Pole. “But I have to make sure that everyone has the same opportunities, because it’s about justice.” She said of the criticism: “What should I do if someone jumps in a suit that is ten centimeters too big? Please! You can see that with the naked eye.” And she started the frontal attack: “I didn’t think that this could happen at the Olympics. I assumed that the teams would prepare and take the competition seriously.”
The suits in ski jumping are difficult. Strict rules apply to things like crotch size and waist fit, and the air permeability of the material is also regulated. After the competition, Stefan Kraft said on ZDF that he had already lost a kilogram at the Olympic Games. For such cases, ski jumpers have sewing kits with them and have to make their suits smaller. But this has been an established procedure for years, and it’s nothing new for women either.
However, Austria and Japan admitted that Iraschko-Stolz and Takanashi’s suits were too big. Austria’s sports director Mario Stecher said: “In the World Cup there are some suits that are so big that you think you are at the Tyrolean tent rental.” Apparently, the rules were therefore interpreted more as a non-binding recommendation. “At the Olympics, you take rigorous action. I have to ask myself whether that’s the right way.”
“We’re not stupid”
Team manager Horst Hüttel firmly rejected the fact that Althaus could have cheated. “In no way, we’re not stupid,” he said on ARD. “It’s the biggest showcase that girls have. Nobody takes the risk, so I’ll put my hand in the fire.” Althaus wore the same suit as in the individual competition just two days earlier. Katharina Althaus had won silver there – everything was obviously regular. “Of course you move at certain limits, but they were addressed and discussed in the individual competition and before that, but never exceeded,” said Hüttel.
Instead of celebrating a medal, the only thing left for the German team is cohesion. Althaus, Geiger, Selina Freitag and Constantin Schmid took a photo, you can see them arm in arm. All four posted it on social media. Geiger wrote: “We stick together, no matter what.” Particularly bitter: while the men jump off the large hill, the women have to watch. For them, the Olympics are over. But they won’t be able to tick it off for a long time.