Markus Eisenbichler did not lose faith in Karl Geiger even after his ski jumping buddy had problems starting in the Olympics.
“It’s a magician who can do it,” said Eisenbichler optimistically and in his usual broad Bavarian dialect.
Co-favorite Geiger himself seemed quite at a loss with regard to his six failed training jumps on the gigantic ski jump. “It annoys me incredibly,” said the 28-year-old, while the wind swept mercilessly through the outlet at double-digit minus temperatures.
In the freezing cold of Zhangjiakou, Geiger is actually aiming for the next big coup: Olympic individual gold. As the overall World Cup leader, he is automatically one of the biggest favorites and the main hope of German aerialists.
He could follow in the Olympic footsteps of gold winners Andreas Wellinger and Jens Weißflog. In order for this dream to become a reality, however, something has to change quickly at Geiger.
“I haven’t found the real solution or access to the hill yet,” he explained. “But: We still have a qualification tomorrow and then the first competition will start.”
Family man Geiger is not only one of the top candidates for the big ring triumph this winter because of his consistency.
In recent years, Geiger has developed from a rather inconspicuous team member in the shadow of Wellinger, Richard Freitag and Severin Freund to an absolute model jumper and has long since overtaken the three.
The Bachelor of Engineering, who won silver with the team in Pyeongchang, has long been a nerve-racking major event expert. At the past two World Championships he won four gold medals and a total of seven.
Ski jumping: Karl Geiger is fascinated by the facility
Geiger is considered one of the jumpers who can best adapt to difficult conditions and new circumstances.
It is precisely this ability that he needs in China, where the organizers have set up a ski jumping complex that is reminiscent of a UFO, a halo or a giant donut. “It’s really impressive what has been built here. I’m very fascinated by the whole facility,” said Geiger.
The fact that it was so difficult for him to adapt athletically is astonishing and unusual. With jumps of 88, 76.5 and 95 meters, Geiger only finished 28th, 42nd and 12th in the second practice session. The day before it was places 20, 21 and 22.
However, Geiger has already proven in his career that he can deliver even after weaker practice jumps when it matters. “We’re certainly not going to throw in the towel just yet,” he said combatively.
Markus Eisenbichler still has a score to settle with the Olympics
Besides him, Eisenbichler is also capable of an individual medal. Everything was there for the 30-year-old this season: After dream flights and podium places, the man from Siegsdorf cheered exuberantly, after failed jumps and bad luck from the wind he cursed uncontrollably.
“Eisei”, as he is called in the team, still has a score to settle with the Olympics. When the German team won silver in the Pyeongchang team competition in 2018, Eisenbichler had to watch as a substitute.
Stephan Leyhe got fourth place in the quartet. According to the coach, Eisenbichler is “enormously important” for the team of national coach Stefan Horngacher this year – just like Geiger.
If one of the two wins on Sunday, that would be the fifth German athlete to become individual Olympic champion in ski jumping.
In addition to Wellinger four years ago and Weißflog (1984 and 1994), Hans-Georg Aschenbach (1976) and Helmut Recknagel (1960) also won gold.