Ski jumping jewel Luisa Görlich carries the German hopes on her shoulders. Before her next competition in Lahti, the sport.de columnist looks back on ski flying in Vikersund and gets enthusiastic.
Another departure in the season is imminent; we left Oberstdorf at 3:30 in the morning and took the first plane from Munich to Helsinki. The departures now have their own rituals and running gags, especially when we have to explain the contents when checking in our ski bags. As the last stop on the women’s World Cup calendar, Lahti is the venue on the program for the World Cup final, where the top 30 in the overall standings can compete.
I’m in 22nd place after the Raw Air Tour, so I’m happy to have gotten my season-ending ticket.
The Raw Air Tour was exhausting as expected after the Nordic World Ski Championships in Planica. The qualifying jumps counted towards the overall ranking and the time frame was also very tight. Concentration and travel stress were our companions.
I first had to approach the hills in Oslo and Lillehammer and unfortunately couldn’t cope right away; especially on the hill in Lillehammer I had to make some adjustments there after the summer jumping, so that actually only the last jump really worked.
The ultimate highlight was then ski flying in Vikersund – for the first time for the women. A small fly in the ointment was that only the top 15 of the overall World Cup rating were allowed to compete in this class. I used the forced break that had arisen for me in this way with a flight home to the Allgäu. Walks with my dog and friends in the first spring temperatures cleared my head for the final chord of the World Cup.
However, the objective for Lahti is clear; Even if this hill is new territory for me, I would like to use the last opportunities of the winter season to climb a bit in the overall ranking. It may seem a bit strange given the coming spring in Germany, but I’m really looking forward to “Full of Snow” again. It’s always a special feeling of excitement to jump an unknown hill, read it and then hopefully have it under control.
The atmosphere in the women’s World Cup is very friendly and familiar with the other nations, so that the World Cup jumpers will celebrate a fun farewell party after the last jump of the season; each team brings specialties from their home country and we have them explained to us before we dine together.
Of course, we’ll review the highlights of the season again, especially the Nordic World Ski Championships, where we were able to become world champions as a team, the Raw Air Tour and ski flying in Vikersund.
Above all, we will agree not to get tired of demanding the Four Hills Tournament for women.
Best regards
Luisa Gorlich