In the World Cup team of the German ski jumper, Andreas Wellinger is something like the Olympic expert. At the 2014 games, the then 18-year-old won a gold medal with the team. In 2018 he cleared up again with gold from the normal hill and silver from the big hill in the team. The DSV eagle also aims a medal in Predazzo.
“I want to ski jumping at the highest level. My goal is not only there, as the Olympic thought expresses, I also want to perform. I want to put myself in position to fight medals,” said Wellinger in an interview with the “Augsburg General” at the seasonal highlight in Italy.
There the native Traunsteiner hopes for a repetition of his gold triumph from 2018 in South Korea. “On February 10, 2018, I drove to Pyeongchang’s ski jump and knew: Today I was the best. It worked. It was an inner conviction that I never experienced in the form. I will try to develop this conviction in the next few months,” said the DSV-Adler.
Ski jumping: Wellinger looks forward to “big sports tradition”
In the meantime, Wellinger is looking forward to the games in Italy with a special anticipation. “There is a big sports tradition in the Dolomites, Italy is a winter sports nation. In Predazzo I was able to experience my first World Cup in 2013,” he is full of anticipation: “Now they have built two new ski jumps, we want to master them. We have the sports facilities and slopes you know.”
Only a small hook brakes its euphoria: “The only downside is the long ways between the individual competitions.” The Olympic winter games take place in four clusters to which the competitions are divided. In addition to ski jumping, the Nordic combination and the cross-country skiing run also take place in the fleim cluster.
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It is the 25th Olympic Winter Games that will be opened in Italy on February 6, 2026. Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo prevailed against the Swedish competition from Stockholm and Are, the third Olympics in Italy become Cortina d’Ampezzo 1956 and Turin 2006.