“It affects the boys”
Hannawald names the reason for the German tour failure
January 8, 2025 – 9:37 a.mReading time: 2 minutes
Once again, the German jumpers came away empty-handed at the Four Hills Tournament – despite previous top form. TV expert Sven Hannawald has identified a possible cause.
Even in the 23rd attempt since Sven Hannawald’s triumph in 2002 it didn’t work. The German ski jumpers have once again jumped ahead of the competition at the prestigious Four Hills Tournament. And that despite Pius Paschke being in outstanding form beforehand, winning five of the first ten World Cup competitions. Andreas Wellinger (a win) and Karl Geiger (a 3rd place) also showed what they are capable of.
But when the tour began, the crash followed. Hannawald, now a TV expert at ARD, has identified a possible reason for the DSV athletes’ once again disappointing performance. He sees weaknesses in communication at the German Ski Association (DSV) that could have had an impact on the team’s performance. The 50-year-old said this in an interview with RTL/ntv and sport.de.
Despite missing out on the podium, Hannawald also praised the work of the German team. “I notice how hard and intensive the work was – regardless of whether it concerns the material or other construction sites,” he said. The athletes cannot be blamed for sport. “There is no question that we have world-class athletes,” said Hannawald.
However, the DSV does not have the same flexible conditions as Austria, where the jumpers recently celebrated a triple victory. Daniel Tschofenig took the win, followed by Jan Hörl and Stefan Kraft. The best German was Paschke, who finished sixth as the overall World Cup leader.
Hannawald found that the tension in the DSV environment before the Four Hills Tournament was particularly noticeable. This was also reflected in the way information was passed on. He cited the World Cup in Engelberg shortly before the tour as an example. Hannawald only found out after the last competition that Paschke was unable to train fully due to illness. “If you communicate this in advance, I approach the analysis of the jumpers completely differently,” explained the 50-year-old.
The lack of exchange was also a disadvantage for top jumper Paschke himself, as he came under unnecessary pressure before the tour. In Engelberg he only managed tenth and 18th places. “As soon as the first communication towards the tour starts, you notice that everything becomes a little more solid, and I think that this also has an impact on the boys,” he said TV expert.
Hannawald emphasized that open communication was crucial to give athletes “easy and relaxed” access to the prestigious tour. He was the last German to win this in 2001/02.