But again “2-0 for Austria”
Ski jumping “grandpa” makes history, DSV eagles shine
November 26, 2023, 6:27 p.m
Veteran Pius Paschke, comebacker Stephan Leyhe and Andreas Wellinger on the podium: The German ski jumpers are off to a dream start with record numbers. National coach Stefan Horngacher can hardly believe his luck, dreams of touring are already beginning to emerge.
Right in the middle of the world elite, several world-class jumpers and a podium debut for a 33-year-old: The German ski jumpers got off to a brilliant start in the new winter, but were defeated by the outstanding Stefan Kraft on both days in Ruka, Finland. “There’s no way I would have believed that. We didn’t know exactly where we stood. The team performance is great, congratulations to the team,” said national coach Stefan Horngacher about the first weekend in which team senior Pius Paschke made it to the individual podium for the first time in his career jumped and Andreas Wellinger came third on Sunday.
The Austrian Kraft clearly stood out on both days. On Sunday in Finland he not only braved the icy cold of minus 18 degrees, but also the strong competition, whose flights he outperformed once again. “Stefan Kraft cannot be beaten on this hill. He is in amazing shape,” stated Horngacher. He commented flippantly on ARD about the country duel: “2-0 for Austria.” On Sunday, 148.5 and 148.5 meters were too much for the competition, which was led by his compatriot Jan Hörl and Wellinger. On Saturday, Paschke, who finished second directly ahead of Stephan Leyhe, was the focus. Wellinger and Karl Geiger were actually considered the most promising German jumpers.
Paschke suddenly asked
The quiet veteran Paschke was actually always a man in the second row. It wasn’t just in terms of performance that the Bavarian was often significantly behind colleagues like Karl Geiger and Markus Eisenbichler. Even in public and in interviews, Paschke usually didn’t play a big role. That suddenly changed. When he took second place behind high-flyer Stefan Kraft with jumps of 142 and 142.5 meters, it was all about Paschke. “That means a lot to me. That was really cool. I really like the hill. The second place is really cool,” said the 33-year-old. Paschke was part of the world champion team in 2021 and part of the silver team at the Ski Flying World Championships in 2020. But things hadn’t worked out so well in the individual game so far.
Paschke has been taking part in the World Cup since 2013, the jumping on Saturday in Kuusamo was his 121st competition – and ended historically: Never before has a ski jumper been older for his first podium finish, and Paschke is now one of the ten oldest jumpers on a podium. A list that will probably be headed forever by the “pterosaur” Noriaki Kasai from Japan, who was even on the podium in 2017 at the age of 44. Paschke has not yet been referred to as a “German Kasai”, but he still had to put up with one or two sayings because of his age. “Grandpa struck,” said ARD expert Sven Hannawald – and made Paschke grin. Fourth place on Sunday confirmed the strong form.
Leyhe is suddenly back too
The former world-class jumper Leyhe is suddenly back among the world’s best after a long period of suffering as a result of a serious knee injury and many sporting setbacks. “He shows one jump after the other as if he were pulling on a string,” praised Horngacher. Leyhe spoke of “a great feeling” in the wonderful snowy idyll of Ruka. Ski jumping is “so much fun” at the moment.
Around five weeks before the prestigious Four Hills Tournament, the German team is well on its way. “As a team, we are in a better position than ever before. It will definitely be fun,” said leading jumper Geiger. This weekend he was in the second German row behind Paschke, Leyhe and Wellinger. Geiger’s roommate Markus Eisenbichler was not nominated for the opening squad because of the high level of performance. The desire to tour is huge after more than two decades without triumph.