The 28th Ski Flying World Championships will take place in Bad Mitterndorf, Austria. The flying hill at Kulm is considered a ski jump with its own magic, especially for German athletes.
“Ski flying is the Champions League of ski jumping”said the Austrian ski jumper Stefan Kraft in a media round shortly before the start of the Ski Flying World Championships at Kulm. The 30-year-old holds the world record in ski flying with a distance of 253.5 meters. This distance was achieved in 2017 in Vikersund, Norway.
At this year’s World Championships in Kulm, the world record should not be in danger. Jumps over 240 meters are possible, as shown by the current hill record set by Slovenia’s Peter Prevc. At the 2016 World Cup he flew to 244 meters.
The laws at the Kulm
“Kulm has its own laws”said German national coach Stefan Horngacher to the Sportschau. The Austrian knows the ski jumps in Bad Mitterndorf very well. As an athlete, he won the individual World Cup in 1991. What makes the flying hill on the Kulm so special and a myth for the Germans?
“Kulm is unique. On this hill the wind blows from different sides. That makes it so difficult for the jumpers”said the 54-year-old. In comparison to the other ski flying jumps in Oberstdorf, Vikersund and Planica, the jump does not have an inrun tower. The actual flight time is limited on the Kulm.
Conversion for more safety
Major renovation work began after 2014. The status as the only natural flying hill was lost because the take-off table (concrete) and the inrun became artificial. Jumps have been expanded. “There used to be a few falls here”said Horngacher. “After the renovations, the athletes no longer fly as high. That makes it more pleasant for them.”
No German winner
For the DSV Eagles, the flying hill has developed into its own myth during a world championship. No German ski jumper has been able to win on the Kulm since the first World Championships in 1975. GDR jumper Rainer Schmidt achieved the greatest individual success at the first World Cup with the silver medal.
Since then, the German team has been waiting in vain for another individual success. The exceptional German jumper and sports show expert Sven Hannawald flew to the World Cup victory on the Kulm in 2003 with a distance of 214 meters, but there was no World Cup in Bad Mitterndorf at the time.
In the team competition, the German team achieved third place in 2006 and second place in 2016. There then and now: Andreas Wellinger and Stephan Leyhe. The German team is completed by Karl Geiger, Pius Pasche and Philipp Raimund. After the Four Hills Tournament and the World Cup competitions, national coach Stefan Horngacher has a positive outlook on the Ski Flying World Championships: “We hope that we can defeat the Kulm myth here and ride down this Kulm wave.”