The pensioner is finally rewarded
The luck and bad luck of being an Austrian
By Tobias Nordman
2/7/2022 8:54 p.m
While the German ski jumpers experience an agonizing ski jump at the Olympic Games, the Austrian Manuel Fettner finds happiness in Zhangjiakou. The silver medal on the small layout is the reward for remarkable persistence.
The thing with the beer from home should be difficult if not impossible. Because slipping into the Olympic bubble in the greater Beijing region from a distance is not possible. Not even for a former ski jumper who was as successful as Martin Koch. On Sunday afternoon, as a TV expert on ORF, he euphorically announced that he wanted to fly to China personally if ÖSV “pensioner” Manuel Fettner actually managed to win the medal sensation on the normal hill at the Olympic Games. And his buddy, with whom he had competed many times, delivered. After fifth place in the first round, Fettner jumped to silver in the final – and when he found out about Koch’s travel plans, he wanted a beer as a souvenir. The Austrian administration had hardly a coup less on the list than this one.
And so the sports festival in the winter sports region of Beijing had its first big fairy tale (the second was written by Canadian Max Parott in slopestyle the day after). Fettner has been a well-known face on the international ski jumping scene for 23 years. Sometimes a laughing one, often a disappointed one, even more often a desperate one. But never a triumphant one before. At least not as a lone fighter, which is usually the case in this daring discipline. He has never celebrated a win in the World Cup (he was third three times), never won an individual medal in a major competition. It’s different in the team, where he was even allowed to wear World Cup gold. It was in Val di Fiemme in 2013, when he spectacularly saved the win on one ski, just avoiding the fall (the binding on the other ski had come loose).
The elevator type of ski jumping
The fact that it took him 13 years for his first major title and nine more years for the biggest success of his career really says it all about the career of this ski jumping phenomenon. If Fettner were a football club, you would probably call it an elevator team. Too good for the second league, the Continental Cup (26 individual victories), but not strong enough to consistently assert itself in the world elite. And now the coup, which he carried out surprisingly reluctantly. He was “just overjoyed” and just wanted to “enjoy.” The hymn-like tones of this quiet party were nevertheless intoned. From his teammates.
“Incredible, I’m almost more happy for him than if I had won a medal myself,” Stefan Kraft is quoted as saying on the Austrian portal “laola1.at”. “The old dog is incredible. The second jump was from another planet. If you want to get a medal, everything has to be right.” Indeed it did. Fettner, who often enough only made one outstanding jump in the snow in his career, remained stable and focused. The greatest chance at the crowning glory of his career didn’t paralyze him, it finally set him free. The jump, perfect. The conditions in the wind lottery are good.
The well-deserved happiness of the eternally stubborn, of those who always stuck with it. By the way, Fettner found out just how close good and bad luck are to each other the day after his triumph. In the mixed team competition, teammate Daniela Iraschko-Stolz’s jump was not counted. Because of a non-compliant suit. The chance of a possible medal gone. The Austrian was one of five athletes who were disqualified. The German Katharina Althaus was also fatally affected.
Three years ago he had almost given up, as he now confessed to a media round after his triumph. “It was a difficult time, there was also an illness. I took a break, finished my studies. He thought hard about whether he should continue at all, then decided to do it. The love of sport and the challenge Facing the constant changes in the discipline again and again were decisive.” Certainly more than the belief in myself that this is possible,” said Fettner. And he has never regretted it, even “regardless of the medal”.
“He jumps like from another planet”
Through the tough shallows of the Continental Cup, the 36-year-old fought his way back into the A squad. But only a few weeks ago he booked his place on the Olympic team. Freed from the constant pressure of having to prove himself, Fettner delivered the competition of his life. “Before the games, no one really took him into account, but since he’s been here he’s jumped like he’s from another planet,” enthused Daniel Huber, also a teammate. “He’s come such a long way, I’m so happy for him.”
And the 36-year-old mentally walked through this again after his coup. “It was a very cool way, even with those downs. If I hadn’t enjoyed it so much, I would have thrown my hat on it long ago (Editor’s note: original quote). It’s not always just about podium places or medals, but first and foremost I liked the sport and I also noticed that I’m still capable.” And so he became the second oldest ski jumping medalist of the games. Only the Noriaki phenomenon was older Kasai, who never became an Olympic champion and was not nominated for Beijing.
And suddenly there he is…
This fairytale story by Manuel Fettner is also about the luck and bad luck of being an Austrian. In hardly any other country (perhaps still in Norway) was and is the density of top jumpers and massively pursuing talents as great as in the Alpine republic. What legends have jumped over the Bakken in the past two decades. Andreas Goldberger, Andreas Widholzl, Thomas Morgenstern and the phenomenal Gregor Schlierenzauer are just the biggest names. There were also Stefan Horngacher (current national coach of the German ski jumpers), Martin Höllwarth, Andreas Kofler, Wolfgang Loitzl and Michael Hayböck. They were all more successful, more prominent, bigger heroes at home. Fettner was her “wingman” at best. And if there were hints that he was also pushing for a leading role, as in winter 2010/11 or 2016/17, then he always missed the breakthrough.
But Fettner fought and fought. Further and further. And in this Olympic winter, when the Austrians just don’t have the high flyers, when their star Stefan Kraft is looking for his top form and the other jumpers are looking for Konstanz, Fettner was suddenly there. That wasn’t implied. His performances were solid to good, but no more. All of that doesn’t count. At the right time, in the right place, on the right hill – that’s all that counts. And the small systems are particularly good for him. A different type of ski jumper is required than on the monstrous super hills between Willingen and Planica. More the strong jump, less the flier (of course, both work, as Olympic champion Ryōyū Kobayashi proves). Fettner is one of those, a guy with a strong take off. “In principle, I always like to jump on 90-meter hills.” Bitter from his point of view: There are no longer small hills in the World Cup. “Otherwise I might have been further up the field more often.” But he doesn’t want to quarrel. He’d much rather have a beer.