The recent Ski Jumping World Cup in Zakopane, Poland, was one of the less successful of the winter for the German Adler. In his sport.de column, Karl Geiger looks back on Germany’s performance – and calls for a reaction.
I sit in the lounge at Krakow airport with mixed feelings. There are people all around us waiting to board. Delays are said to be increasing. We still have the information that we will take off on time. But there is still time – time to collect yourself, to sort out your impressions from the weekend.
The Polish World Cup in Zakopane with team jumping and individual competition is behind us. The team competition in particular showed that we as a team are well ahead of the top; While each of us has our own specific areas of work, other nations show a more homogeneous demeanor and a stability of the individual members, which overall leads to good results. However, we must not argue with it! Recognize, act, carry on – these are the guard rails that we must follow. There is plenty of time before the World Cup to put things right.
I myself am satisfied with my performance. While the training and practice runs were a bit bumpy, the jumps in the team competition were almost optimal. With 8th place in the individual competition, I was not only able to confirm this, but also once again fulfilled my personal goal of top ten placements. I’m at the forefront and what applies to the team also applies to me: recognize and act!
The basic system is correct and I will continue to use the time to think about the final details. This is the work order towards Trondheim.
The call to board startles me out of my thoughts. Actually, it starts on time! That’s good, then we won’t be in Oberstdorf too late. This turns our attention to the upcoming competition.
For the first time this season we will be starting ski flying on the home hill at Freibergsee, which is equally attractive for all starters. I’m looking forward to it, as it’s particularly atmospheric to go hunting and flying in front of a home crowd.
During the week itself we will use various training sessions to work on the details mentioned.
Boarding completed – the stewardesses close all compartments and the belt is in place. A look around at the teammates, everyone had quickly sent arrival times to the families on their cell phones. Now everything is on airplane mode! The machine rolls to take-off. We leave Poland and fly home to our next task!
Kind regards
Karl Geiger