Sunday, January 09, 2022
Two breakdown days in Bischofshofen
German jumpers are “fed up”
After the end of the Four Hills Tournament, the ski jumpers still have two days of competition in Bischofshofen. From a German point of view, it would have been better to save yourself that: In the individual competition on Saturday, there are bankruptcies, bad luck and breakdowns, on Sunday the frustration reigns again.
After his fall, Karl Geiger was lying on the ground with the snow hanging on his face. At the end of a very disappointing ski jumping weekend, Germany’s best flyer was the ideal symbol. If the protégés of national coach Stefan Horngacher started two weeks ago with big dreams and goals, they are now leaving Bischofshofen shaken and disappointed: The missed podium at the Four Hills Tournament was followed by a weekend to forget. Geiger fell, Severin Freund fell, Markus Eisenbichler was disqualified, and the team did not get past sixth on Sunday.
“At some point the air will also be outside. One or two things were okay, but it just didn’t go smoothly for us this weekend,” said head coach Horngacher just four weeks before the start of the Olympic Games in Beijing on ARD. In the final team competition in Pongau, hosts Austria won ahead of Japan and Norway. Germany had no chance, and not just because of Geiger’s fall. In the end, 82.4 points were missing, which is the equivalent of more than 45 meters. “We will try to reconnect as soon as possible,” announced Horngacher.
Germany’s last tour winner, Sven Hannawald, said of the violinist, who was still outstanding in November: “The current situation is that his head is tired. Geiger had admitted several times in the past few days how much he had been bothered by the great pressure surrounding the tour. The 28-year-old man from Allgäu started the event as a top favorite, but had already gambled away all chances in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. And it didn’t work on the weekend either, because other nations seemed to have put up better with the exhausting traditional event. On Saturday, the second tour leader Marius Lindvik from Norway prevailed ahead of compatriot Halvor Egner Granerud and the Austrian Jan Hörl. Tour winner Ryoyu Kobayashi from Japan finished fourth.
“I’ve had enough without shit”
Geiger in eighth place and Andreas Wellinger in 19th place were clearly behind. With a view to Beijing (February 4 to 20), the Horngacher team not only lacks Geiger’s initial dominance, but also the unity of the team. That annoys those involved. “I’ve had enough of it now, no shit. I’m already a little bit full,” said Eisenbichler.
Team world champion Freund had already caught it in the individual after jumping to 128 meters. “It feels like I’ve already been in telemark, the next moment I’ll be lying down,” said Freund, who also cost him a participation in the second round of the competition after the fall. Freund could not name the reason for the fall. “It’s stupid as hell.”
Physically, the 2014 Olympic champion is doing well. “Should everything fit. I hope that there aren’t any bruises. So far nothing I would notice now,” said Freund. The Bavarian only joined the German World Cup team for the tour and is fighting for an Olympic place. Only Geiger and Eisenbichler are placed.