Zhangjiakou (dpa) – With full concentration in the competition, but also with the heart at home. “Happy Birthday Grandma!” was written on a small sign that the German freestyle skier Aliah Delia Eichinger held up for the camera in the finish area after the slopestyle qualification.
Did the greetings also reach the grandmother? “I asked dad if she was watching, but he didn’t know exactly either. I just hope she saw it,” said Eichinger with a smile. Even if the granddaughter missed the finals in her first games, grandma should be proud of her.
Eichinger is soon allowed to hug her again. Because after the missed qualification, their first winter games are over. The 20-year-old finished 17th in Zhangjiakou, only the top twelve athletes fight for the medals. In slopestyle, the athletes glide over iron bars and jump over snow ramps on a demanding course. They show spectacular flight interludes – sometimes even backwards.