Augsburg (dpa) – The former world-class ski jumper Severin Freund has spoken out in favor of higher prize money in Olympic winter sports, so that significantly more athletes than before are financially secure after their careers.
The 33-year-old stated in an interview with the “Augsburger Allgemeine” that there is currently “comparatively little prize money” at ski jumping events.
“I would wish that most jumpers would not end up starting from scratch, but could create a buffer for professional training, studies or self-employment,” said the Bavarian, who ended his career at the end of March after the World Cup finals in Planica .
He himself was able to make a good living from his sport, but he was one of those “who won a little something,” explained Freund, who was the last German overall World Cup winner in ski jumping to date with his success in the 2014/15 season . “But I can’t sit back and relax either,” he said.
He does not want to work as a coach in the future. “I’m 99.9 percent sure that I won’t be active in a coaching role.” He wouldn’t be the right person for this job.
Freund won gold with the team at the 2014 Winter Olympics and was able to look forward to a total of eleven medals at ski jumping and flying world championships. In the World Cup he celebrated 22 victories in singles, the last of them in November 2016 in Finland.