This is how the third day of the Olympics goes
Silver plus misery gives next chance for a medal
2/6/2022, 8:38 p.m
Gone with the wind at first, the ski racers want to enter the Olympic Games with a delay. A German hope for a medal returns in biathlon and Karl Geiger gets the next chance in ski jumping – alongside silver medalist Katharina Althaus.
Alpine skiing: The women open the alpine skiing competitions with the giant slalom. Olympic debutant Emma Aicher will represent Germany when the first round starts at 2:30 a.m. CET. The second is scheduled to follow at 7:30 a.m. CET. The 18-year-old is the daughter of a Swede and a German and is considered a great talent. Expectations shouldn’t be too high though, she’s going to compete as an apprentice. In the World Cup, Aicher only took part in one giant slalom – in January in Kranjska Gora/Slovenia, where she missed the final. The technology specialist has competed in a total of nine World Cup races. Her best finish is 13th in slalom, also in January in Kranjska Gora.
Alpine skiing: Hope it works this time! The men’s downhill was supposed to take place on Sunday, but the wind blew the competition away. Like the training sessions on Xiaohaituo Mountain in Yanqing before. “It’s an absolutely good decision. It’s still extremely windy. It was the right decision in terms of safety and fairness,” said men’s national coach Christian Schwaiger about the cancellation. Now it should start at 5 a.m. CET.
Due to the wind, a decision had to be made before the race was started as to who would start as the fourth German alongside Romed Baumann, Dominik Schwaiger and Josef Ferstl. The trainers chose Andreas Sander. His relief after the last few difficult weeks was “very great”. He is confident about the competition: “The fact that I was beaten in the last race doesn’t mean that I can’t compete for medals – I believe I can do that.” Whether Sander, Baumann, Ferstl or Schwaiger – “the boys”, said head coach Schwaiger, “are highly motivated and ski well”. His downhillers are “definitely outsiders at the Alpine Coronation Mass, but this role suits us”. Schwaiger recalled the World Championships in Cortina d’Ampezzo 2021, “nobody expected us” – Sander and Baumann (Super-G) still won silver.
speed skating: For Michelle Uhrig it is a success that she made it to Beijing. The Berliner experienced a series of setbacks in the years before: In April 2020 she was hit by a car during cycling training, both knees were injured. Four operations will follow until spring 2021 due to severe pain. Her doctor said to her: “You are the medical miracle of the past ten years”, because the 26-year-old actually qualified and is now on the starting line over 1500 meters (9:30 a.m.CET). Her second appearance follows on February 19 in the mass start: “The mass start is good for me, anything can happen there. I definitely want to finish in the top eight.”
Biathlon: The great hope of the German biathletes can be surprised. Not from the track, not from the wind, but from himself: “Of course I’m very excited to see what the body is currently giving,” said Preuss before the individual race (10 a.m. CET): “I’m going to be surprised now .” Your preparation was anything but successful: foot injury after falling down the stairs, then corona infection. The 27-year-old traveled to Beijing without a World Cup dress rehearsal. Previously, she had been traded as a medal candidate. And now? “I’m just happy to be back and to be able to get involved.” It won’t be easy, Vanessa Voigt and Denise Herrmann already experienced that in the mixed relay. Gusty wind, the route at 1700 meters altitude. Herrmann believes that things are going better individually: “We’re in good shape.” The fourth German to take part is Vanessa Hinz, Vice World Champion 2020 over this route.
ski jumping: Katharina Althaus has already won silver once in Beijing, will there be a second medal? In the mixed team, she has the chance together with Seline Freitag, Karl Geiger and Constantin Schmid. From 12:45 p.m. CET the competition will start on the normal hill, which brought no luck to the German men in the individual. Geiger in particular then has to forget everything that went wrong in individual jumping and in the training sessions. Only 15th place is something to forget for the leader in the overall World Cup. “It was like there was a magnet in the slope,” he said soberly. There is still reason for hope: the German team unexpectedly won World Cup gold last year. For the fourth time in a row.