With an Olympic bronze medal on the large hill, Karl Geiger achieved a real liberation. But carefree joy was only visible for a short time with the German ski jumping star. The past few days have taken their toll on him.
Rarely has an Olympic medalist been as thoughtful as Karl Geiger after his triumph. An hour after Bronze coup in Zhangjiakou’s hypermodern arena Germany’s flagship ski jumper sometimes seemed as if he were close to tears – but not out of joy, but out of melancholy. Not a trace of the light-heartedness that so often accompanies such successes.
In a low voice, Geiger said sentences like “I was completely exhausted” or “I was in a bad way, I had no idea what I was doing here because I only got hit.”
The emotions had burst out of him loudly during his jumps. Both times it was 138 meters and both times the otherwise rather reserved man from the Allgäu was overjoyed.
After touching down, he squatted down, clenched his fists at knee level and raised his arms with a loud whoop of joy. “Jaaaaa”, there was more to this exclamation than just joy, it contained above all a lot of relief.
After the jump with clenched fists in the squat: Karl Geier cheered similarly after both jumps in the Olympic competition on the large hill. (Source: Hendrik Schmidt//dpa)
Geiger and the Olympic ski jump
Relief that, from Geiger’s point of view, these Olympic Games did not turn into a complete disaster. Because he apparently had this assumption himself: “I honestly didn’t know how to get out of there,” said the Allgäuer, who had turned 29 the day before. Geiger’s look suggested how badly the previous days had affected him.
After only finishing ninth on the normal hill on Sunday and the German team a day later in mixed jumping due to the disqualification of Katharina Althaus (Read everything about the suit farce in mixed jumping here) had missed the expected medal, Geiger’s mood was at rock bottom.
Karl Geiger in view of the Olympic rings: The German star jumper has had a difficult time in China. (Source: Hendrik Schmidt/dpa-Zentralbild//dpa)
Geiger and the Olympic ski jump
Because the leader in the World Cup never really got warm from the start with the new hill 200 kilometers north of Beijing. Already in the first training rounds, Geiger felt a certain insecurity – which gradually increased.
National coach Stefan Horngacher repeatedly reported the “bad feeling” that Geiger creeped up on the hill.
And even after winning the bronze medal on Saturday, he wasn’t quite sure how he managed to do it in the first place. “I can’t explain it exactly,” Geiger admitted openly. “I tried to flip the switch in my head and started all over again. Just like a newborn chick – hatch the egg and get going.”
The thing about the chick and the egg
He tried to simply reset everything completely – but could not recommend this procedure under any circumstances. “The trick is that you have to be completely down, eat dirt, so that it will eventually work again,” explained Geiger after winning bronze. Now he wants to focus entirely on the team jumping on Monday (from 12 noon in the t-online live ticker).
Because the goal was actually to have overcome its low to some extent by then. He hadn’t really expected a performance like on Saturday.
“What Karl did today was original Karl Geiger,” said national coach Horngacher, adding: “We are all completely perplexed. It’s a salvation.” That was particularly noticeable on this evening by Karl Geiger himself.
“For God’s sake”: The two commentators can hardly believe it when Vinzenz Geiger overtakes the competition just before the finish line. (Source: t-online)
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