Karl Geiger is also the great hope in German ski jumping in 2022/2023. After the botched start of the World Cup in Wisla, Poland, the three-time Olympic medalist writes in his column on sport.de about the upcoming analyses, which optimizations are planned and how the latest rule changes affect his sport.
Wind, rain, green hills instead of snow-covered forests, sunshine and “tangy” temperatures – the start of the season in Wisla, Poland, was tough. This not only means the general conditions, which are unfamiliar to us in a World Cup competition, which led to measures such as ice tracks and mats in the landing zone, but also the generally poor performance of all German participants.
With one or two exceptions, we all fell well short of our own expectations, although the preparations for the season and the last courses pointed in a different direction. This is exactly what caused our astonishment and a bit of disillusionment.
Exactly what caused it is difficult to judge spontaneously. I’m not a fan of blaming the material or the weather for mistakes. For me it’s crucial what I have to improve in my jump so that I’m able to compete at the very front again.
“A quick and comprehensive analysis” needed
In the next two competition-free weeks, we will focus on a quick and comprehensive analysis. We have to find out where the technical error is and where else there is room for improvement.
After Wisla we will be in Oberstdorf to train. The coaches may also revisit the jumps of strong competitors from Poland, Austria and Norway who made a strong statement at the World Cup opening.
In addition to the basic components such as approach, impression from the hill and trajectory, we will also examine the material and equipment, since we had rule changes in this area, which particularly affected the suit.
Karl Geiger on the rule change in ski jumping
After rule changes, the cards are always reshuffled, there is no difference between Formula 1 and jumping off the hill. We will tinker, test and optimize our jump so that the whole system on the hill is better.
So we now have a piece of hard work ahead of us, namely identifying the problem and then developing strategies and measures to solve it. But that’s what we’re used to from our sport. Now the detailed coordination begins, after we had to witness after the first international comparison that the other nations are currently two steps ahead.
The World Cup calendar gives us time for this and we will use it.
Best regards
Karl Geiger