The ski jump at the legendary Holmenkollen in Oslo was not a good place for the German ski jumpers. But the Raw Air Tour means that after just two days of competition break, people jump again somewhere else. From Tuesday (March 12, 2024) it will be about points in Trondheim. The chance for a trend reversal.
In Trondheim, Norway, several points may be set for the German ski jumpers in the coming days. After the disappointing competitions in Oslo, men’s national coach Stefan Horngacher and his athletes are hoping for better luck and better results where the World Championships will be held in 2025. The DSV has also announced crucial discussions with Horngacher about his future as national coach.
“Tough game” at Holmenkollen
The disappointment over the very mixed results in Oslo was evident to the national coach immediately after the jumping on Sunday (March 10, 2024). At the same time, he tried to look forward in the sports show: “It was a difficult weekend for us in Oslo. We thought it would be easier. (…) Now we hope that things will be a little easier in Trondheim.”
After all, the 54-year-old wanted a small one “Step forward” made out, even if the results didn’t really show that. Andreas Wellinger (Ruhpolding) was once again the best DSV eagle in eighth place. But everyone else was having an extremely difficult time. Philipp Raimund (Oberstdorf) in 16th place also made it into the top 20. Constantin Schmid (23rd), Pius Paschke (25th), Stephan Leyhe (30th) and Karl Geiger, who didn’t even qualify for the final round could, in some cases, fall well short of expectations.
Performances are better than the results
Of course, Horngacher didn’t want to break the rule over his athletes. He didn’t talk about poor performances, just unsatisfactory results. “We were also a bit unlucky with the conditions”said the national coach, especially referring to the second jumps by Raimund and Paschke. “All in all it was a tough game, but we fought and took a step forward.”
What sets the national coach apart is that he is not prone to hectic activity when faced with a lack of results. Instead, he continues to believe in the work of his team: “We’re missing a lot going forward now,” he said. “We just have to keep calm and keep working.”
Rebuilt ski jump in Trondheim – “something completely different”
This is also what Karl Geiger does, who obviously doesn’t know exactly what’s wrong with his jumps (“I find it incredibly difficult in the air. The system simply doesn’t work together”). Like the others, Geiger is also hoping that things will go better again on another hill with different characteristics and hopefully fairer conditions. Stephan Leyhe didn’t just speak for himself when he said: “Oslo isn’t really my favorite ski jump. I’m looking forward to Trondheim now, something completely different. Let’s see how it goes. I’m in good spirits.”
An extra dose of motivation could be that the World Championships will be held in Trondheim in a year. The last time the competition took place here at Granåsen was in 2018 (winner: Ryoyu Kobayashi), after which the competitions were canceled twice in a row. Since then, both ski jumps have been extensively rebuilt and the inrun and take-off areas have been completely renovated. New opportunity, new luck for the German long-distance hunters.