Katharina Althaus couldn’t keep up with the cordiality. First the three-time ski jumping world champion from Planica hugged all the members of her fan club, who had traveled all the way from the Allgäu, then she happily kissed her fiancé Patrick.
Only after umpteen more interviews, the press conference and another medal ceremony was Althaus, who this time had to be content with bronze, able to devote herself to the part of the evening that she particularly wanted to do: “First of all, I’m going to really celebrate today and then we’ll see what’s going to happen tomorrow.”
The 26-year-old from the Allgäu is one of the faces of this World Cup. Three times gold in individual, team and mixed on the normal hill, now bronze behind Alexandria Loutitt from Canada and Norway’s Maren Lundby: Althaus leaves the Slovenian valley of hills happy and proud.
“I think the next few weeks will be a bit more stressful with a bit of hustle and bustle. But of course you’re happy to take that with you. I don’t think I’m going to change as a person,” said Althaus, who was described by her teammate Selina Freitag as “Gold- Mommy” was called.
The break for the ski jumpers won’t be particularly long. After further World Cups, on March 19 in Vikersund, Norway, for the first time in history there will be a World Cup individual on a ski flying hill. “It’s a dream that’s coming true. Somehow one highlight is chasing the other,” said Althaus. National coach Maximilian Mechler spoke of bronze after three gold medals as “the most difficult of the four medals”.