From a German perspective, Vinzenz Geiger’s gold medal in Nordic combined was one of the biggest sensations at the Beijing Winter Olympics. The omens for jumping and cross-country skiing were not bullish.
The 24-year-old reported in a guest article in “Sport Bild” how bad the immediate preparation for the first individual decision in Nordic combined had been.
First the corona shock in Geiger’s teammates Terence Weber and Eric Frenzel, then the individual isolation as a “close contact” person: Vinzenz Geiger admitted that he was anything but well prepared for the first jump on the normal hill.
“Without much hope” after jumping
“Normally nothing gets me upset so quickly. But now I was really annoyed,” said the man from Oberstdorf, who had traveled to Beijing with the recommendation of two World Cup victories in the current season.
From Geiger’s point of view, the jumping was also disastrous. As eleventh on the normal hill, he started the cross-country ski run almost a minute and a half behind Ryota Yamamoto.
“I went into the race without much hope,” explained Geiger, who initially had to make up a lot of ground on teammates Julian Schmid and Johannes Rydzek.
Vinzenz Geiger celebrates “the perfect race”
“But then I felt better from lap to lap. I pushed and wanted to see how close I could get. Suddenly bronze was within reach, then gold. On the final climb I was full of adrenaline. It didn’t feel that tiring at all . It was the perfect race”, Geiger celebrated the greatest success of his sporting career.
The gold medal in Beijing is by no means the end of the road for the ambitious Nordic athlete, as he underlined himself.
“Now the World Cup continues for me. I still have a lot planned,” Geiger announced. As early as next weekend he wants to get back into action in the World Cup in Lahti, Finland.