Karl Geiger experienced a debacle on the Bergisel ski jump in Innsbruck. Not for the first time in the history of the Four Hills Tournament, the Bergisel became the mountain of fate for the DSV-Adler.
Karl Geiger furiously rammed his skis into the Innsbruck snow and buried his face in his hands. Completely stunned, the man from Oberstdorf struggled for words after the heavy sporting defeat at Bergisel.
51st place in the Innsbruck qualification, which was actually considered a formality, Germany’s ski jumping hope couldn’t explain itself. “That was, woah, intense”said the 29-year-old, who is otherwise the most reliable athlete in national coach Stefan Horngacher’s team. “Really bad that it’s not even enough for the top 50.”
Geiger will not be there on Wednesday (1.30 p.m. / live stream on Sportschau.de). All hopes of a decent placement in the overall standings of the Four Hills Tournament are gone for him. After the 108 meter hop, Geiger was 0.2 points short of reaching the final at the famous Bergisel.
Horngacher: “Completely missed”
Stefan Horngacher was also served. “It’s difficult now. I didn’t expect that. Eliminated, unfortunately, yes, we have to accept that. It’s bitter for us, but it doesn’t help now. It went completely wrong.”said the national coach.
Many German tour hopes burst at Bergisel
On the prominent ski jump in Tyrol, Germany’s pilots have often had to accept heavy defeats and consequently had to end all dreams of the tour. Because the hill doesn’t make it easy for his jumpers and, according to Horngacher, forgives “no mistakes”.
A low inclination of the table, a flat take-off that makes landing difficult, difficult wind conditions and the small hill, where even small differences in distance have a major impact on the classification, pose problems for the jumpers.
Geiger failed not for the first time in Innsbruck
Geiger failed not for the first time in Innsbruck. Two years ago he came second in the third competition and failed. After finishing 30th at the Bergisel, the man from Oberstdorf had to bury all hopes of an overall victory. Martin Schmitt’s dream of the 1998/99 Four Hills Tournament in Innsbruck was also shattered after he had previously won the competitions in Oberstdorf and Garmisch-Partenkirchen.
Richard Freitag (2017/2018) and Severin Freund (2015/16) had a similar experience. But Freitag doesn’t only have bad memories of the hill. He is the last German to win a Four Hills Tournament in Innsbruck. However, the victory was eight years ago.
Markus Eisenbichler has also had good experiences with the Bergisel: in 2019 he was crowned with the title at the Nordic World Ski Championships. In the qualification on Tuesday (January 3rd, 2022) Eisenbichler finished 16th.