The Austrian ski jumpers dominate the Four Hills Tournament. The other nations are wondering whether everything is going well with the ÖSV Adler’s material and suspect possible fraud. The answer from the accused is clear.
The fight for victory at the Four Hills Tournament is, year after year, also a fight for the best material. Sometimes a nation gains a tiny advantage through a new binding, sometimes through “miracle wax” under the skis and sometimes through other little tricks that are supposed to comply with the regulations but do not always do so in the eyes of the competition.
The ski jumping suits from the ÖSV-Adler are currently in the focus of said competition. The accusation: The Austrians have a little too much material on their suits, which ensures more buoyancy and therefore greater width. Concerns about this were expressed primarily from Norway after Daniel Tschofenig, Jan Hörl and Stefan Kraft recently ran their opponents into the ground.
ÖSV Adler deny allegations
In the ÖSV camp they can only smile wearily at these accusations. “Nonsense. These are not new suits, we have had them since Lillehammer and they have also been approved several times by FIS material controller Christian Kathol,” said head coach Andreas Widhölzl about the allegations.
His explanation for the soaring heights of his own eagles: “It has to be said that our boys are currently jumping technically better than everyone else. And of course they also have incredible self-confidence since the triple victory in Engelberg.”
Media suspects “conspiracy theories”
The local media also assesses the current excitement in a very similar way. The “Kurier,” for example, wrote about pure “conspiracy theories.” This always happens when “a team reduces the competition to extras and sometimes literally shows them off.” The “Kleine Zeitung” also sees only “envious people” on the other side.
Andreas Goldberger and Gregor Schlierenzauer also consider breaking the rules to be impossible. “It’s completely normal when one nation dominates so much that the others get nervous and hope that something will happen,” said “Goldi” to the “ORF”.
“It’s suspicious. There must be something there”
Meanwhile, Schlierenzauer assures that the FIS controls are watertight and do not allow any gaps. “The others are trying to find something, but the suits are constantly being checked, so everything certainly corresponds to the regulations,” said the two-time tour winner.
The other side isn’t quite so sure. “NRK” expert Maren Lundby, for example, explained after Garmisch with regard to the ÖSV dominance: “It’s suspicious. There must be something there.” Johann Andre Forfang agreed and also puzzled: “We’re scratching our heads and wondering what the Austrians have come up with.”
Whether the Austrians are really simply “just” better than their competitors or whether the ÖSV team has perhaps found a “miracle weapon” that is perhaps regular, but perhaps also irregular, can hardly be answered conclusively. The only thing that is certain is that the discussions about this will not stop for the time being – that is also part of the good tradition of the Four Hills Tournament.