For the German ski jumpers, the Two Nights Tour didn’t go as hoped – in terms of sport and in terms of becoming more comfortable on the jumps.
With a dark red knitted hat and bright yellow skis, Agnes Reisch stood in the media area in Oberstdorf on New Year’s Day, gave interviews, and the Two Nights Tour was done for her – at least in terms of sport. Then she suddenly turned around and looked at the jump again. For a moment it was no longer about answering the question that had just been asked, but rather about keeping our fingers crossed for teammate Katharina Schmid for her jump.
Reisch clenched her fists in front of her skis and started a long “Ziiiiiieeeh” for Schmid with the fans at the Schattenbergschanze, clapped appreciatively and continued the conversation just a moment later. “Now we can move on“, said Reisch, almost apologetically. At that moment she had shown what is currently being discussed so often: support for the ski jumpers.
Schedule and organization not yet fully developed
The fact that Reisch loudly supports her teammate, that the German athletes are excited during the run-out and that they almost support Selina Freitag when she falls back to fifth place after first place in the first round, is a given for the athletes. However, the fact that more equal opportunities are needed than female athletes who set a good example and demonstrate strong sport became clear at the turn of the year during the Two-Nights Tour, a kind of mini-tour with two instead of four competitions.
While there were still 10,000 fans at the ski jump during the men’s qualification on New Year’s Eve in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, after a long break in renovations, among other things for the exchange of sponsor banners at the women’s ski jumping competition in the late afternoon, only around 3,000 people remained in the stadium. Shivering, they waved small flags and tried to create a great backdrop for the athletes, while the stadium announcer struggled to pronounce Katharina Schmid’s name correctly.
Care products as a bonus: The winter sports coffee service
In terms of sport, three athletes, Schmid, Reisch and Freitag, made it into the top ten at the start, but the German team missed out on a podium place. But the dominant theme was different. “For my qualifying victory I received a bag with shower cream, shampoo and towels“said Friday.”You can see the difference there.“In this case it’s 3,000 Swiss francs – that’s what the male ski jumpers get for winning the qualification.
“That’s pretty bitter“, sports show expert Sven Hannawald classified the discrepancy, but also emphasized with regard to the ski jumpers’ hopes of a Four Hills Tournament: “Certain things have to grow.“Horst Hüttel, sports director of the German Ski Association, also sees it that way.”As of now, there is no prize money for qualification. These are the FIS regulations” he said, but: “We have to think about it.”
DSV wants to “come up with something”
Because it’s not just the world association that can distribute prize money. “We have to think about it“says Hüttel and promises that the DSV wants to tackle the issue together with the organizing committees.”We’ll come up with something with the OCs.“Towels and shower gel are a bonus”somewhat unfortunate choice“.
Care products as a bonus – they are something like the coffee service in the winter sports edition. This is not the only reason why the lack of financial compensation is a problem. “If we have less money, we can’t do all the other things – like rehab – as well“, explained Reisch. She often had to do this herself because of her injuries. “If you have better financial security, then it’s easier.“That would also be a further step.
Mixed conclusion at the end of the TNT
The conclusion of the Two Nights Tour – it is mixed for the German ski jumpers, and not just in view of the discussions about bonuses and the often-mentioned equality on the hills. “It was quite up and down“, says Freitag. She has shown that she can compete for a podium place after challenging weeks and months in terms of sport.”It’s a shame it didn’t turn out the way I hoped.“
Teammate Schmid would probably also sign it. She made it to third place in the overall ranking of the Two Nights Tour – but struggled in her home town of Oberstdorf on New Year’s Day with the fact that she narrowly missed the podium. “That hurts a bit” said Schmid.
National coach Heinz Kuttin, on the other hand, drew a positive conclusion and remained true to what the athletes value so much about him. “I’m very satisfied“Kuttin emphasized.”It’s been close twice now that we’ve managed a podium. We did very well in the individual jumps.“The national coach once again highlighted Reisch’s two top ten places and took a look at the next World Cup. Qualification continues in Villach on January 4th.”Let’s see, maybe the looseness will come back.“