The Four Hills Tournament is currently the annual highlight of the ski jumping season. German hopes are pinned on Karl Geiger in particular. In his column at sport.de, the four-time world champion looks back on the atmospheric start in Oberstdorf.
The view of the wide valley, the view down into the arena, which is finally filled with spectators again – we are in Oberstdorf, we are starting the tour. Everything is set to zero. I had a mixed World Cup start with small problems in the jump and flight system; these were identified and the solutions in sight. The last jumping in Engelberg had confirmed that. I’m on the right track. The course is now being set here in Oberstdorf. Now is the time!
Those were the thoughts before the first round of the opening competition in my home country.
The next morning I wake up satisfied – a fourth place at the beginning of the tour is an excellent starting point for the further stations. The knockout duel against Austrian Stefan Kraft, who had consistently delivered at a good level throughout the season, promised to be particularly thrilling.
This co-mechanism always creates a special arc of suspense when the top ten people from the overall World Cup ranking meet. One is then the loser and with one leg already out of the second round, which destroys the chances of a good placement in the overall tour.
In order to qualify for the second round, he must then be among the five losers who received the best distances and points. The Austrian did a good job, which of course I noticed from the audience’s reaction. I had to counter and was able to counter: the direct jump into the field for round two stood and not only that, 5th place for me and 4th place for Andreas Wellinger were springboards for more. Only the overall World Cup leader Kubacki, his teammate Zyla and a fantastic Granerud, who even jumped over 140 meters, were ahead of us Germans.
That raised the mood in the arena, which was sold out with 25,000 spectators. Now it was a real hill festival in Oberstdorf. Exuberance and a mounting tension were everyone’s companions as we headed into the second heat – and that’s something we athletes feel waiting at the top of the hill. The jumping in round two confirmed the performance of the leaders from round one.
Despite a long break in the wind just before my jump, I was able to jump 134 meters very well. Andreas Wellinger dropped two places, but the three leaders after the first round were able to defend their positions in the second round, above all the leading Norwegian Granerud, to whom I have the greatest respect for his second jump over 140 meters, close to the hill record. The 4th place is a good start for me. Now the tour train is rolling.
Today we drive over to Garmisch for the New Year’s competition.
Best regards
Karl Geiger