Former ski jumping world champion Markus Eisenbichler’s dip in form is becoming increasingly severe. The 32-year-old Bavarian only finished 47th in the second-class Continental Cup in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.
After a jump of 113 meters, Eisenbichler was clearly eliminated after the first round. The 2019 individual world champion is in what is probably the biggest sporting crisis of his career. In November, national coach Stefan Horngacher waived him for the A squad. Since then, Eisenbichler’s performance has fallen even further.
Recently there was criticism from coach Horngacher and ex-world-class jumper Sven Hannawald. “Once he’s in his spiral, it’s incredibly difficult to get him out of there. Jumpers like him then try to use force, and then it gets even worse,” Hannawald described on ARD.
In addition to Eisenbichler, Constantin Schmid was also not called up for the A squad before the start of the season. Things are going much better for Schmid: he won the jumping in Garmisch on Saturday with a clear lead after jumps of 140.5 and 141.5 meters.
There is no prospect of a return to the World Cup for Eisenbichler. As part of the Four Hills Tournament, he was recently not considered for the national group, which means additional starting places for the host.