Stefan Horngacher has a very special relationship with the Hochfirstschanze in Titisee-Neustadt. The national coach of the German ski jumpers, who comes from Austria, lives only a few meters away from the largest natural hill in Germany, so that he can walk the distance between the place of retreat and the sports facility.
Horngacher should have returned home on Friday evening with a good feeling. Because at least Karl Geiger is apparently getting in better shape after the worst start to the season in twelve years. With his jumps of 135 and 141.5 meters, the man from the Allgäu secured third place behind the day’s winner Anze Lanisek from Slovenia and the Polish overall World Cup leader Dawid Kubacki.
It was the first German podium place for German ski jumpers this winter. “I’m really very happy,” said Geiger, “my form wasn’t the best lately.” National coach Horngacher let it be known. “We are very satisfied. We have more than achieved our goal.”
During the first of three days of competition in the Upper Black Forest, the stadium announcer worked hard to heat up the atmosphere. Which was not overly successful, because surprisingly few spectators had set out to hunt for autographs and selfies, drink mulled wine and cheer for the jumpers. The grandstands around the small snack bars still offered many gaps.
The Black Forest local heroes no longer exist
The times when the German ski jumpers led the industry and the Black Forest local heroes around Dieter Thoma and Martin Schmitt caused a sensation are many years ago. The currently best Germans around Geiger, Markus Eisenbichler or Constantin Schmid are all based in Bavaria.
We are very satisfied. We have achieved more than our goal.
National coach Stefan Horngacher about the first day of competition in Titisee-Neustadt
The fact that the mood came up quite late that day was probably also due to the fact that the jumps of the Germans, apart from Geiger and Schmid, who finished seventh, were rather disappointing. Eisenbichler complained about the “lack of feeling” after finishing the competition in 21st place.
Andreas Wellinger, Olympic champion at the Olympic Games in South Korea in 2018, had supposedly freed himself from his ongoing low performance, but clearly missed the second round in 43rd place. The day before he had fallen and injured his ankle.
The Four Hills Tournament starts in two and a half weeks
Geiger on the other hand, like in January when he won here, showed his particular fondness for this hill, which was prepared with snow made the previous year and conserved over the summer. “At first I didn’t think it would be enough for a place on the podium,” he said about his feeling after landing.”
Nevertheless, he celebrated exuberantly after things hadn’t gone really well this winter. About two and a half weeks before the start of the Four Hills Tournament, some of the highly traded ski jumpers still had small dropouts.
While only two women and two men are involved in the mixed competition on Saturday, there will be an opportunity on Sunday and next weekend in Engelberg to get an even better feeling for the first highlight of the season. “I’m not thinking that far yet,” said Geiger, “but that was an important step.”
National coach Horngacher knows how to shape an overall tournament winner. Under his direction, the Pole Kamil Stoch triumphed twice. Possibly the jumps in front of his doorstep are an initial spark for the German jumpers to find the right flight form in time after a false start.
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Source: Tagesspiegel
Brayden White, a veteran sports writer at Global Happening, brings his wealth of knowledge and expertise to the sports section. With over a decade of experience, he is committed to delivering high-quality coverage of the latest games and events.
