Explosion of performance creates euphoria before the Four Hills Tournament

Do the German ski jumpers finally have something to smile about at the prestigious Four Hills Tournament (December 28th to January 6th)? The hopes for the first victory in 21 years are high and justified.

Looking at the overall ranking in the overall World Cup rankings is a dream from a German perspective. With Karl Geiger, Andreas Wellinger and Pius Paschke, three DSV Eagles are among the top four in the overall World Cup after three World Cup stops. Stephan Leyhe is in the top ten in seventh place. No other nation has got off to a better start.

Geiger – first individual victory in 685 days

At the weekend at the home World Cup in Klingenthal, Geiger and Co. confirmed that the top performances at the start of the season were no flash in the pan. The 30-year-old Geiger was the best on both days, ending his winless streak and standing at the top of the podium in an individual competition for the first time in 685 days.

While the fans chanted “Oh, how beautiful, so beautiful. They haven’t seen something like that in a long time, so beautiful, so beautiful,” the German Eagles cheered on the run-off about their splendid series of successes. After six competitions, national coach Stefan Horngacher’s protégés have two victories and six podium places to their name – in the entire last season there were only two victories (both by Andreas Wellinger) and eight podium places.

Opportunities increased for more athletic jumpers?

Only the Austrians – with top man and World Cup leader Stefan Kraft – are keeping up, while nations used to success like Poland, Norway and Slovenia are lagging behind. But why is it that the Germans and Austrians are flying away from the competition? The fact is, in addition to mental strength, rule changes probably also play a role.

The FIS has tweaked a few things, but the effect seems huge, especially for larger, more athletic jumpers. Last season, the podium was not only easy, but also small.

Hopes of winning the tour are growing louder

Wellinger, who is 1.84 meters tall, is now a regular guest – and alongside Geiger, he is the biggest German touring hope. The 28-year-old is jumping most consistently and is in his best form for a long time. In six competitions this season so far, Wellinger has already made it onto the podium four times.

The faint hopes of the first tour winner since Sven Hannawald in the 2001/02 season are growing louder. Fans have been waiting and hoping in vain for 21 years. There has never been such a long German winless streak in the history of the Four Hills Tournament. In the recent past, Severin Freund, Richard Freitag, Markus Eisenbichler or Geiger and Wellinger had certainly come with jumpers with winning potential, but they never won; instead, athletes from other nations celebrated year after year.

Opening jump in Oberstdorf is sold out

This season a DSV eagle could finally be at the top again. The starting position is great – and the fans’ anticipation is unbroken despite the crisis year last season, when the Germans were unrivaled on the tour. The opening competition in Oberstdorf is sold out.

If things go nearly as well as they did in Klingenthal, the German anthem could be heard on the winner’s podium in Bischofshofen on January 6th. “The tour is the goal. We just want to win now”Geiger made a clear announcement and Wellinger followed up: “We’ve been close to the sauna so many times. I can promise everyone: we want to win it too. Unfortunately, in the end only one person can do that.”