The German Nordic combined team can only start with three athletes in the competition on the normal hill on Wednesday (February 9th, 2022). The I.O.C did not allow the application to nominate Manuel Faißt for Eric Frenzel and Terence Weber, who were in corona isolation.
Faißt set off on his journey to China via Zurich on Sunday, but will have to return home without having achieved anything.
Weinbuch complains about dealing with Geiger
National coach Hermann Weinbuch also complained about the special treatment given to Vinzenz Geiger. “Unfortunately, it doesn’t work out organizationally. It’s very exhausting and hinders us a lot in the actual work on the hill.”, Weinbuch told the dpa. Geiger was classified as a close contact after his teammates Frenzel and Weber tested positive for the corona virus. For the 24-year-old, this means, among other things, that he is no longer allowed to drive in the shuttle with his colleagues.
“The Vinz was very hectic the last two days because the shuttle didn’t come”said Weinbuch. “Today he waited another hour.” The 61-year-old added after the jump training: “He’s not allowed to use the lift between jumps. He was only up there five minutes before his jump.”
Violinist weak in training
Geiger finished 16th, 19th and 14th in the three training sessions, making him the weakest German. He is third in the overall World Cup and thus the best athlete from the German Ski Association team. “You can’t work with him at all. And that’s how he jumped.”said Weinbuch. “It was very, very difficult for him.”
On the other hand, things went really well for Julian Schmid. The man from Oberstdorf won two of the three rounds and finished third once. “Young, carefree – I hope he keeps it that way until the day after tomorrow”said Weinbuch. Johannes Rydzek will be the third German to start on Wednesday.
Frenzel: “Hope Every Night”
Meanwhile, Eric Frenzel, who is in isolation in a quarantine hotel, has expressed optimism that he will soon be able to leave the corona isolation: “II hope every evening that the values get better. So far it hasn’t been enough. But I and our team doctor, Mr. Pecher, are very, very confident that the situation will improve quickly.”, said Frenzel in the Sportschau interview. In the coming week, Frenzel would like to be at the start of the large hill competition: “It’s eight days away now, so it should be possible to get out by then.”
The 33-year-old was positively surprised by the sympathy for his situation: “I notice the many positive messages, how many people are behind me, the many video calls with my family build me up”.
Source: sr/dh/dpa