The emotions in the ski jumpers’ “shoe war” continue to boil over. Still in focus: Germany’s national coach Stefan Horngacher. He is said not only to have caused the Polish athletes to be disqualified in Willingen, but also to have submitted another serious protest. Meanwhile, the DSV coach has support from the Norwegian camp.
In the “shoe war” between national coach Stefan Horngacher and the Polish team, the next round has begun. After the Austrian made sure that two Polish jumpers were disqualified in Willingen on Saturday because of illegal material, just one day later Horngacher was also responsible for the fact that the Japanese Yukiya Sato was taken out of the classification.
As the “sport.pl” portal reports, Horngacher protested against the Satos skis on Sunday. The accusation: The Japanese skis are too wide and therefore do not comply with the rules, which stipulate a minimum of 95 and a maximum of 105 millimeters.
Peter Slatnar, the manufacturer of the skis, admitted to “sport.pl” that Sato’s skis were actually outside the prescribed width. But: “We checked it and it was less than a millimeter. It was 0.2 to 0.4 millimeters. That’s nothing,” said the Slovenian annoyed, who at the same time revealed that Horngacher’s protest was not directed against Sato, but against Sato against the Slatnar skis used by other jumpers.
Slatnar asserted that he had not used any other material in Willingen than in the weeks before. Only since no investigations were initiated. It was only in Willingen, after Horngacher’s intervention, that the manufacturer’s material came under the scrutiny of the regulators. This annoys Slatnar, because in his eyes the boards from the manufacturer Fischer don’t meet the specifications one hundred percent.
“They also slightly exceeded the limit. But they weren’t disqualified. It can always be a few tenths too much. So far, nobody has been interested. It’s a joke,” the Slovenian rumbled. Since skis from other manufacturers don’t fully comply with the rules either, Slatnar expects very precise checks before the Olympics: “And I’m sure that many will then have big problems – including the German team.”
Meanwhile, the anger in the Polish association over Horngacher’s shoe protest is still great. Ski jumping director Adam Malysz announced that he would continue to fight for the shoe to be approved for the Olympics and said: “Everyone is preparing a secret weapon for the most important event. We will not let the topic rest.”
The Poles continue to assert that the new boot doesn’t offer any aerodynamic advantages, which is forbidden according to the regulations. This was the result of pre-season wind tunnel tests. On the other hand, the shoe has a supportive effect during the run-up in the track and in the first phase of flight. At the same time, it should offer the jumpers more security and prevent serious injuries to the calf.
Norway coach: “Horngacher did the right thing”
Alexander Stöckl, coach of the Norwegian team, has meanwhile sided with Horngacher in the matter. He said “sport.pl”: “The rules clearly state that the shoe must not offer an aerodynamic advantage. That’s why I understand Horngacher. He did the right thing because the changes to the shoe were very obvious. If he doesn’t object had filed, someone else would have.”
The Poles didn’t jump very well throughout the season. “And suddenly they are really good. It was obvious that something had happened to the shoe,” added Stöckl, who at the same time explained: “This solution was very good and is a very interesting idea. It’s clever to close the shoes like this develop like the Poles did. But I’m not surprised that there are inconsistencies.”