Success before the Four Hills Tournament
German ski jumper Wellinger is Italian runner-up
December 23, 2025 – 4:55 p.mReading time: 1 min.
After poor performances, Andreas Wellinger recently withdrew from the World Cup. Now he is celebrating a success. Karl Geiger also appears to have improved.
Andreas Wellinger and Karl Geiger showed their best performances of the season as guest starters at the Italian championships in Predazzo. Wellinger secured second place while Geiger finished fourth, giving them new confidence just before the Four Hills Tournament.
The competition in Predazzo on the small Olympic ski jump in Fiemme Valley was advertised as a test competition for the Winter Games and was therefore also open to international participants. The Austrian Stefan Rainer won the competition, while Giovani Bresadola took third place as the best Italian and thus became the “real” Italian champion.
After poor performances in the World Cup, Wellinger and Geiger withdrew to prepare for the Four Hills Tournament, which begins on Sunday with qualification in Oberstdorf. In Predazzo, both athletes showed solid jumps that gave them back technical confidence.
The two experienced jumpers have a particular preference for the normal hill. Wellinger became Olympic champion from the small Bakken in 2018 and won World Championship silver three times. Geiger, also known as “Kleinschanzen-Karle”, achieved the title of vice world champion and third place at the World Championships on the normal hill.