Ski jumping Germany has been waiting for a victory at the Four Hills Tournament for over twenty years. Pius Paschke was enthusiastic this season – but he is now also under pressure.
His record so far this season reads like a dream. Pius Paschke won the season opener in Lillehammer and came second in the second competition. The German ski jumper was also at the top of the podium in Ruka, Wisla and Titisee-Neustadt. There were also successes with the mixed team and in the super team. The 34-year-old is currently leading the overall men’s World Cup and is wearing the yellow jersey – and with that the excitement is increasing with a view to the Four Hills Tournament.
The competition traditionally starts on December 29th in Oberstdorf. Afterwards we go to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Innsbruck and the final competition in Bischofshofen on January 6th. So could there finally be a German tour winner again after Sven Hannawald? Based on the latest impressions from Pius Paschke, this seems entirely possible.
Hannawald, who was crowned winner in 2002 after his successes on all four hills, told the “Kronen Zeitung”: “Every year I find myself saying again and again that this year the conditions are even better than the last. I But I believe that the position Pius is in now can’t really be topped.”
Why? The 2002 Olympic champion explains this as follows: “What he is currently showing, including his constitution and physical aspect, looks very easy. Pius was also able to prevail on various hill profiles in a wide variety of conditions . So I’m keeping my fingers crossed that we’ll finally hear the German anthem again on January 6th.”
Hannawald’s victory was over 22 years ago. In the past, there were always good starting points for the German jumpers – but the hoped-for sense of success did not materialize. At the beginning of this year, the chances were good for Andreas Wellinger. In the end, the 29-year-old came a close second behind the Japanese Ryōyū Kobayashi. Wellinger won the opening competition in Oberstdorf.
Wellinger summarized his tour on ARD at the beginning of this year: “On the one hand, I’m extremely proud of what I’ve achieved in the last ten days. On the other hand, we didn’t make it again.” So now the pressure is on Paschke.
The German’s former teammate, Severin Freund, said as a ZDF expert about the experienced jumper: “At the moment he’s just floating. That’s unmatched and absolutely world class.” In fact, consistency is one of the most difficult elements in ski jumping. Your own form is crucial, but external conditions and the mental factor also come into play.
However, Paschke has been there for a long time and could now benefit from his experience. Although the tour dress rehearsal in Engelberg did not go well for the police chief with 10th and 18th place, there were also difficult weather conditions in Switzerland. This can certainly happen on tour, but Paschke would then know what he would have to do differently than at the dress rehearsal.
According to Engelberg himself, he said: “It didn’t work out today. Check it out. I have to do better when it snows.” National coach Stefan Horngacher also revealed: “The fact is that he was a bit sick.” Horngacher is looking forward to the spectacle at the end of the year and then at the beginning of the year, said on ZDF: “We train for this all year round. We like to go into the tour as favorites.”
However, the Austrians Daniel Tschofenig and Jan Hörl, who follow Paschke in the overall World Cup and are also in good shape, also want to have a say.