Because advocate and ski jumping icon Adam Malysz is not running again in the election of the board of the Polish Ski Association, Stefan Horngacher’s return could be extremely shaky. However, the outgoing 48-year-old believes that the Austrian was still able to get hired as sports director in Poland.
“There is still a chance that Stefan will come to the PZN,” explained Adam Malysz in an interview with the TV channel “Polsat” and added: “But I’ll leave that to the new board.” Stefan Horngacher had already worked as a national coach in Poland between 2016 and 2019. His return, this time as sports director, actually seemed to have been decided, and a date for the announcement of the deal had even been set.
But then the turning point: While Malysz had firmly assumed that he would be able to bring back the long-time national coach of the DSV-Adler, the association board whistled him back shortly before the announcement of the commitment on April 15th with a view to the upcoming elections, and the personnel was put on hold for the time being. It is unclear whether the new board still wants the Austrian.
Horngacher return “still conceivable”
Malysz understands that the deal has been put on hold for the time being: “I know that it is difficult to deal with such serious matters as a four-year contract or the financing of such a person at the end of a term in office. I could be accused of bringing someone in at the end of the term and now the new president has to deal with it. That’s why I understand this delay.”
It became clear that “my opinion on many matters was different than that of the board, but this matter with Horngacher is certainly not over yet, it is still conceivable,” the former world-class ski jumper added meaningfully. He left it open whether he would still be involved in the discussions and the process.
The 48-year-old recently announced that he would not run again in the election of the board of the Polish Ski Association. Malysz was elected to office in 2022, but recently repeatedly complained about the difficult conditions.