Katharina Althaus wins ski jumping silver at the Olympics

Katharina Althaus collapsed in the outrun of the gigantic Olympic ski jumping facility in Zhangjiakou and wept. After ski jumping silver and thus the first German medal at the Winter Games in China, the 25-year-old was completely overwhelmed. “I’m super proud and really happy,” said Althaus.

She was only beaten by Slovenian Ursa Bogataj on Saturday. Their teammate Nika Kriznar secured bronze. Althaus jumped 105.5 and 94 meters from the normal hill. “At first I was a bit annoyed because my jump wasn’t that good. But then I was happy,” she said. At the first award ceremony a few minutes after the competition, Althaus cheered and stretched both arms in the air. Then she posed for pictures with the other medal winners.

At half-time of the gripping competition with strongly changing winds, Althaus was still in the lead. On her second attempt, she was unlucky with the external conditions. One should have waited for better conditions, criticized the TV expert and former Four Hills Tournament winner Sven Hannawald the jury. “Katharina didn’t make a single mistake today,” he said in the ARD studio in Germany.

The woman from Oberstdorf started the competition as the favorite for a medal. Althaus is second in the overall World Cup. The leading Marita Kramer from Austria could not take part in the Olympic competition due to a corona infection. At the past games in Pyeongchang, Althaus also won silver behind Maren Lundby. Neither the Norwegian, who skips the entire season, nor the weak Vogt are there this time.

Althaus can win another medal on Monday

Althaus has long since taken on Vogt’s role in the German team. The Allgäu native has been the most consistent German jumper for years and is an absolute top performer in the team of national coach Maximilian Mechler, who took over from Andreas Bauer in the summer.

Currently popular on Tagesspiegel Plus:

After things didn’t go so well last season – no German jumper made it onto the podium in an individual World Cup – Althaus has regained his old strength this winter. She won the World Cup in Lillehammer, and Althaus jumped onto the podium a total of seven times.

Strong nerves were required in Zhangjiakou, not only because of the changing winds, but also because of the freezing cold. Althaus and her best competitors from Slovenia put on a great ski jumping show in front of almost empty ranks. In the end, the Slovenians hugged each other, Althaus congratulated them and laughed.

Already on Monday she has the next opportunity to win another medal. Together with a teammate and two jumpers from the team of national coach Stefan Horngacher, she then wants to attack in the mixed team. (dpa)