When Josephine Pagnier won the first women’s competition in Engelberg, the German team only jumped behind. Katharina Schmid only landed in 13th place as the best German on Friday (December 15, 2023).
The German ski jumpers have to continue to wait for their first top placement in the new season. Katharina Schmid in particular jumped after her demands in Engelberg, where women’s competitions took place for the first time. The three-time world champion (once individual, twice team) from Planica in February and March of this year ended up over 50 points behind the top trio Pagnier, Alexandria Loutitt and Ema Klinec.
Already after the first round it became clear that Schmid was even further away from the successes of last season after her two eighth places in Lillehammer. With only 118 meters she was only in 15th place at halftime, and Schmid also disappointed in the second attempt with only 114 meters. Nevertheless, she was once again the best German – albeit at a level that could be improved.
Rupprecht and Freitag also had problems
Because the other German women didn’t really get off to a flying start in Engelberg either. Anna Rupprecht in particular, who had achieved ninth place in Lillehammer, did not get along well on the new jump for women. With 110.5 meters in the first round, she no longer had a chance of placing in the top 10. In the second attempt, Rupprecht achieved a distance of 113.5 meters and took 23rd place in the final results.
Things didn’t go much better for Selina Friday. Even before the second jump, it was clear to her that she would not improve compared to Lillehammer. In the first round, Freitag managed the second longest jump after Schmid with 115 meters, but in the end it was only enough for her to reach 16th place despite an increase to 120 meters.
Perhaps the competition went best for Luisa Görlich. After attempts over 113.5 meters and 118 meters, the 24-year-old only had 4.3 points less than Schmid and ended up in 15th place.