Discussion about crack on arm
Hole in Wellinger’s ski jumping suit causes a stir
December 30, 2023, 1:57 p.m
Andreas Wellinger makes German ski jumping fans dream of their first tour triumph in over 20 years. But with a bit of bad luck, the opening winner would have been disqualified from qualifying: because of a hole in his suit. According to Wellinger, however, this only occurred after landing.
The day after his victory in the opening competition of the Four Hills Tournament, there is a stir surrounding Andreas Wellinger. It’s about a hole in the ski jumping suit, which was already visible on TV on Thursday after the qualification in Oberstdorf. Material controller Christian Kathol told the Norwegian TV station NRK: “If he had been with me and I had seen the suit, he would have been disqualified.”
Horst Hüttel, sports director of the German Ski Association, said on Saturday on ARD: “He has to act like that – definitely. It’s in the regulations. I think that Christian probably has no other chance.” According to Kathol, who will be checked after qualification and who will not will be decided at random.
As a result, no association lodged a protest against Wellinger, who had already won the qualification before the main competition. The topic only came up in Germany this Saturday after Wellinger’s victory in the first tour competition at Schattenberg. A disqualification would have meant that the Olympic champion would not have started yesterday, Friday.
Television images are said to show that the tear on the right armpit only occurred during the celebration in the run-out of the jump. “That’s because I celebrated too much after the jump,” 28-year-old Wellinger was quoted as saying by NRK. Hüttel also emphasized that Wellinger, according to his own statement, jumped with a suit that complied with the rules and that the hole was created afterwards. “He didn’t have any advantage from it. From that point of view, you shouldn’t attach that much importance to it.”
So it remains that Wellinger goes to the New Year’s competition in Garmisch-Partenkirchen as the hunted man. “That’s a nice starting position,” said the 2018 Olympic champion. His lead is small at the equivalent of 1.66 meters, the Japanese Ryoyu Kobayashi and the Austrian Stefan Kraft, the previous dominator of the season, are breathing down Wellinger’s neck – but it is currently bristling with self-confidence.
“The challenge for me now is that I keep jumping,” said Wellinger: “If I do that, then anything is possible.” It’s hard to imagine what would happen if Wellinger actually managed to win the tour. Of the youngest 25 winners in Oberstdorf, “only” 12 ultimately won the overall ranking. But of course Wellinger’s success fuels the dream that, after Sven Hannawald in 2001/02, there will finally be another German triumph in the prestigious series.