Youngster Philipp Raimund has to watch the first ski jumping competition at the Nordic World Ski Championships in Slovenia.
National coach Stefan Horngacher came to Planica for the World Championships with five ski jumpers. Only four are allowed to start on the normal hill on Saturday. After the training jumps on site, the national coach now nominated Andreas Wellinger, Karl Geiger, Markus Eisenbichler and Constantin Schmid for the jumping on Saturday. The decision about the fourth German starting place fell between Schmid and 22-year-old Raimund. “It was very, very, very close,” said Horngacher after training.
Raimund made his breakthrough in the national team this season. He has been a permanent fixture in the German squad since the Four Hills Tournament and recently celebrated his best World Cup result to date in fifth place in Rasnov. Schmid, only a year older than Raimund, has much more experience in the World Cup. Schmid had only been used once at a World Cup – in 2021 in Oberstdorf.
Jumps on the World Cup hill so far “okay”
Regarding the overall impressions of the practice jumps, the 53-year-old said: “The jumps of our top athletes, especially Andi Wellinger, were okay, but not quite good. It was okay for training.” Wellinger, who recently won two individual World Cups, spoke of “mixed feelings” after his jumps.