The past few weeks have been extremely turbulent for Polish ski jumping. The fact that the cooperation with men’s coach Michal Dolezal was not extended was not well received in their own ranks. The Polish Ski Association (PZN) even threatened the resignation of icon Adam Malysz as sports director.
The headwind for Adam Malysz, sports director of the Polish ski jumpers, has become increasingly icy over the past few weeks.
After a rather disappointing season, the association had decided not to continue working with head coach Michal Dolezal, although stars like Kamil Stoch and Dawid Kubacki wanted to stay with the Czech.
The conflict within the PZN became so great that there was even speculation that Adam Malysz would resign. The former world-class ski jumper also fueled the rumors by publicly expressing disappointment with the developments.
“I was wondering if that made sense”
But Malysz goes on. “Sometimes the media can take something out of context and make a scandal out of it. In an interview I said I was depressed after Planica. I wondered if that made sense. But now that we have a new coach, I feel like working again,” said the former world-class ski jumper in “Eurosport“-Interview.
The new coach of Poland is Thomas Thurnbichler. The Austrian can count on his support, affirmed Malysz, who is still haunted by the events surrounding the coaching change.
“It wasn’t a comfortable situation. I kept saying that I sacrificed myself for this team, that I did everything for the lads and the coaching staff. I didn’t feel comfortable in Planica and the things that later in the became known to the media made it even worse,” said the 44-year-old.
Poland’s ski jumping threatened trainer meltdown
The PZN sports director revealed that Thurnbichler almost jumped off and would not have signed the contract that was ready to be signed.
“In the end we managed to convince him, although it wasn’t easy because he got a very good offer from the Austrians. They didn’t want to let him go, but I promised Thomas that I would help him,” said Malysz.
The Austrian Ski Association (ÖSV), where Thurnbichler had worked as an assistant coach, spoke of a “surprising change” after the change became known. The 32-year-old previously confirmed his whereabouts with a handshake. Ultimately, however, Malysz managed to convince the new Polish head coach.