Oberstdorf (dpa) – Germany’s last overall World Cup winner in ski jumping, Severin Freund, leaves a continuation of his career open after this season.
“Honestly, I don’t know how things will continue after the summer,” said the 33-year-old of the German Press Agency. “I decided pretty early in the season that I wasn’t thinking too much and I wasn’t planning that much. I was dealing with fighting every day and throwing myself into it every day. There wasn’t really any room, great to you thinking about the future.”
Freund, who won the overall World Cup in the 2014/15 season and became team Olympic champion in 2014, was unable to repeat his previous level after several injuries – including two cruciate ligament tears – in recent years. Recently, however, he has stabilized and won the silver medal with the team at the Ski Flying World Championships in Vikersund last weekend.
The Bavarian is looking forward to the last two weekends of the winter. Ski flying is on the program in Oberstdorf on Saturday and Sunday, and the season will end next week in Planica, Slovenia. “I’ll let Planica pass by and then I’ll take a little time,” said Freund about his thoughts on his future career. “I think I’ll notice relatively quickly where the emotion is going and what the feeling is saying. Ultimately, it’s a question of motivation and whether you can continue to give the 100 percent effort that competitive sports require every day. “