After the end of the end of the winter sports season, ski jumper Katharina Schmid had left open whether she would continue or not. Now it is clear: the 29-year-old from Oberstdorf attacks again in the Olympic winter.
With 19 one-off wins in World Cup, Katharina Schmid is currently the most successful of German ski jumpers. Last winter she put on a furious start, but then weakened something. The Oberstdorfer therefore left open whether it would go on for her in the new season. Now there is finally clarity.
Ski jumper Katharina Schmid: “I pull through again”
“The moment came quite late,” said Schmid in an interview with BR24Sport on the edge of the first team building measure by the women’s team in Taufkirchen when asked when she decided to continue. “I started to train slowly and feel it in me: How do I feel? After the first jumping units, I noticed: my sensitivity is back. Then I just decided: I pull through again.”
At the end of winter it was not so clear. After a great start to the season with many victories, the flight feeling was gone at some point, the results were rather disappointing. “Of course you start brooding,” said the 29-year-old. “You think about why. It is difficult for me because I am quite sensitive to jumping, which is also my greatest strength. I noticed, my feeling is gone.”
Schmid: “It feels right to continue”
At the World Cup in Trondheim, “only” bronze jumped out in the team competition, but not a single medal. Schmid was noted that she would put it back and forth whether she should continue or stop.
“I just wanted to let it open. But I noticed, I can’t let go.
Olympics not the main reason
The Allgäuer listened to her gut feeling. “The feeling was decisive for me,” she assures. “Of course you have Olympics in mind, but that was not the point where I said: That’s why I’m going to continue.”
Of course, the winter games in Italy are an important goal. Schmid’s main focus is on something else: “I just want to try to bring consistency.
No. With slight doubts and a rather not so positive feeling, Schmid didn’t want to stop. The fact that the Olympic Games will be pending in the coming winter is therefore not too high: “Of course I also have an invoice open, but I already have two Olympic medals (twice silver, d. Red.).”
Olympic gold is still missing in Schmid
Gold is still missing in the collection. National coach Heinz Kuttin hopes to be able to set enough stimuli and to be able to optimally prepare the athletes for the highlight of the season: “I think you can prepare for such highlights. You have to have the courage to take certain breaks in between. The competition calendar as it is does not give us these breaks.”
Kuttin firmly believes that the foundation stone is laid for titles in summer. “That’s why we want to do a lot and train hard.” So that one of his athletes may be able to call himself Olympic champion in February. For Katharina Schmid that would be the ideal time to stop at the height of her career.
Source: BR24 17.06.2025 – 6:30 p.m.
