“This is surreptitious advertising and is forbidden”
ZDF cancels interview with German athlete
March 26, 2026 – 8:35 a.mReading time: 2 minutes
Linus Straßer clearly missed the podium in the season finale. Afterwards there is an interview, but the German misses that too.
The German slalom rider Linus Straßer missed an interview with ZDF after the season finale in Hafjell, Norway. Presenter Amelie Stiefvatter explained shortly before the end of the broadcast on Wednesday: “We would have loved to have done an interview with Linus Straßer at this point, but he really wanted his bottle sponsor to be seen in the picture.” Stiefvatter explained: “Unfortunately, this is surreptitious advertising and is prohibited on public broadcasting.” With that the show ended.
Previously, Straßer was the only German slalom skier to qualify for the last Ski World Cup competition this season. The athlete from TSV 1860 Munich came ninth and once again missed out on a podium place. After a change in material, Straßer fell short of expectations this season. Only once – at the World Cup in Kitzbühel – did the 33-year-old finish third on the podium. At the Olympics, the Upper Bavarian had nothing to do with the medal decisions.
Over a month after his Olympic drama in the slalom, the Norwegian ski racer Atle Lie McGrath won the small crystal ball in the slalom classification. The 25-year-old finished eighth in the last race to defend his lead. Victory in the season finale went to the Norwegian Timon Haugan, while Loïc Meillard from Switzerland came second ahead of the Finn Eduard Hallberg.
McGrath’s biggest competitor for victory in the discipline ranking was Lucas Pinheiro Braathen, who was starting for Brazil. The native Norwegian was eliminated after a driving error in the second round. At the finish line, McGrath cried and fell into his good friend’s arms.
