Oberstdorf (AP) – Before Markus Söder’s eyes, Karl Geiger hit his thighs and struggled with his own performance.
In his home town of Oberstdorf, of all places, the dethroned ski flying world champion did not get past two ninth places and thus lost a great deal of his chances of winning the overall World Cup title. “What I did this weekend is not enough. That’s not enough. If I still want to get that, I have to jump in at the front. It won’t be easy,” said Geiger, who is now 66 points behind yellow after the two flies in Oberstdorf -Carrier Ryoyu Kobayashi lags behind. 200 points are still up for grabs.
Both top athletes had nothing to do with the victories and the podium finishes at the weekend in the Allgäu. “I’m not completely satisfied with the jumps, but it doesn’t help,” said Geiger, who was happy to be able to jump in front of 10,000 spectators at home again. Among them was Prime Minister Söder (CSU), who followed the spectacle on the Heini-Klopfer ski jump with great interest.
National coach confident
At the final in Planica, Geiger needs a little yellow miracle to still be the overall winner. National coach Stefan Horngacher trusts him. “There’s still something in it. He’s in great shape, Planica suits him. He’s looking forward to it,” said Horngacher after the second flight. The day’s victory on Sunday went to the Slovenian Timi Zajc, who prevailed in front of Piotr Zyla from Poland and the Austrian Stefan Kraft. Buddy Markus Eisenbichler, who finished ninth on the same points as Geiger, said: “I would have liked Karl to be a little further up the field.
Although the title in the overall World Cup does not have the dazzling effect of an Olympic victory or a triumph at the Four Hills Tournament, it is considered one of the greatest awards for the athletes. Since the turn of the millennium, only two Germans, Martin Schmitt (1999/2000) and Severin Freund (2014/15), have managed to conquer the big crystal ball.
The weekend was characterized by excellent flights, the Slovenian Domen Prevc even managed a hill record with 242.5 meters. “The flight was great, I just enjoyed it,” said Prevc. There was also a fall, the Austrian Daniel Huber was caught after landing. A day later he was standing in the outlet with a plaster on his chin and told ZDF: “It takes a lot to overcome yourself. I didn’t want to think about what the consequences could be. Because that’s definitely a mistake.”
Friday ends
Former world-class jumper Richard Freitag announced the end of his career on Saturday. “In the last few weeks it has become clear to me that I can no longer achieve my personal goals, despite my great commitment,” said the 30-year-old in his former adopted country.
Freitag celebrated eight World Cup victories in his career, won seven medals at the Ski Jumping and Ski Flying World Championships and won a silver medal with the team at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. Recently, however, things didn’t work out anymore, the Saxon didn’t make it into the World Cup team of the German Ski Association. In the 2017/18 season, Freitag even took second place in the overall World Cup. Geiger would like to avert that next weekend in Slovenia.