Planica (dpa) – The big hill show was shown by others: the German ski jumpers only played a supporting role in the Planica flight spectacle. Karl Geiger, Markus Eisenbichler, Andreas Wellinger and Constantin Schmid only took fifth place in the team competition on Saturday.
The quartet of the German Ski Association was far away from the podium at the next victory of the Slovenian hosts. Second place went to Norway in bright sunshine and in front of a large crowd, third came the Austrians. The team from Poland also finished ahead of Germany.
For the team of national coach Stefan Horngacher, the penultimate competition of the season on the gigantic facility in the valley of the hills was just as disappointing as the first individual the day before. Geiger, who jumped 229 and 231 meters, and Wellinger with jumps of 220.5 and 228 meters were convincing. However, Eisenbichler and especially Schmid could not keep up. In the World Cup nations ranking, Slovenia overtook the now third-placed Germans. Two weeks ago, the German team, with a slightly different line-up, won the silver medal at the World Flying Championships.
“Everybody Gets Tired”
“I couldn’t overcome myself today like I normally do,” said Eisenbichler on ARD. “In general, it’s difficult for me with ski flying at the moment.” At some point you realize “that the season is going to be long and that it’s enough”.
Geiger saw it similarly. “It’s the end of the season, you just notice that everyone is getting tired,” said the man from Oberstdorf. At least he experienced an improvement on Friday, when he was 12th and didn’t get along so well with the hill.
While not all German jumpers were in a good mood, the fans behind the outrun celebrated a big party in the morning. To the Planica anthem, they celebrated flights of over 240 meters in some cases. The Norwegian Halvor Egner Granerud achieved the longest jumps of the day, jumping 244 and 242 meters. He, too, was celebrated exuberantly.
Friend enjoys the atmosphere as a spectator
“It’s fun to be able to soak up such an atmosphere again,” said Severin Freund, who didn’t make it into the German team himself, but didn’t miss the event as a spectator. Whether the 33-year-old will still be there next season is still open. With Coach Horngacher, there are many indications that he will continue to look after the team of the German Ski Association (DSV). “The 2023 World Championships in Planica will certainly still be under his direction,” said team manager Horst Hüttel on the sidelines of the ARD World Cup.
The big season finale will take place with a single flight this Sunday (10 a.m. / ARD and Eurosport). Anything other than the second overall World Cup victory for the Japanese Ryoyu Kobayashi would then be a huge surprise. Geiger would have to win the competition, the sovereign Kobayashi shouldn’t be in the top 20.