Katharina Althaus couldn’t have had a better start to the season. The ski jumper from Oberstdorf was unbeatable at the World Cup in Titisee-Neustadt.
The best in the qualification, at the top after the first round and also in the top spot in the final: Germany’s top ski jumper Katharina Althaus won the World Cup competition in Titisee-Neustadt on Sunday (December 11th, 2022).
Althaus lonely top
With a leap of 130 meters, the 26-year-old laid the foundation for victory in the first round. Althaus was the only jumper to break the 130 meter mark, but three competitors were right behind her. ÖSV jumper Eva Pinkelnig, who started with the yellow jersey as the favorite, was only 2.5 points behind Althaus in fourth place in wonderful ski jumping weather. The Slovenian Ursa Bogataj and Silje Opseth from Norway still had a taste of victory in second and third place.
The final was correspondingly hot, but Althaus showed strong nerves and another dream jump. With 137 meters she flew as far as no other and made her second win of the season perfect. Opseth was second (+ 8.4 points), Bogataj ended up third (+ 11.2 points). “The second jump was great”cheered Althaus on ZDF.
Freitag bites its way into the top of the world
While Althaus was often the German solo entertainer in the top five last season, she now gets support. Especially from Selina Freitag. The 21-year-old impressed in qualifying with 134 meters. Even if Richard Freitag’s younger sister wasn’t quite able to match this performance in the competition, she was fifth with jumps of 125 meters and 129.5 meters, better than ever before in the World Cup and accordingly “happy”.
Reisch celebrates a top comeback after a cruciate ligament tear
Agnes Reisch from WSV Isny is (still) in the shadow of Althaus and Freitag, but showed on the Hochfirstschanze that she is a force to be reckoned with. The 23-year-old, who missed last season due to a severe knee injury (torn cruciate ligament), defied the difficult conditions and sailed at a top speed of 94.3 km/h in the inrun track in the first run to a strong 119.5 meters. With 125 meters, Reisch added a few more meters in the final and was rewarded with eleventh place.
All seven DSV jumpers in the final round
The German ski jumping women are well on the way to fulfilling the target set by national coach Maximilian Mechler. Before the start of the season, the coach had wished that the entire team would move closer to the top of the world. And that worked quite well at the home World Cup. All seven German jumpers qualified for the second round. Even though Anna Rupprecht (21st/110.0m/115.5m), Luisa Görlich (22nd/114.5m/116.5m) and Pauline Hessler (24th/111.5m/117.5 m) are still a few places away from the best, especially the jumps in the final made for a hopeful look into the future.
Seyfarth is fighting for a spot on the World Cup team
Juliane Seyfarth, who lost her regular place in the World Cup team, may have struggled a bit. She was allowed to present herself in the first division for the first time this season, but with jumps of 111.5 meters and 109.5 meters she was the 29th weakest of the seven DSV jumpers.