Every jump counts. They all know that. Even Katharina Schmid, who had another day to forget at the Raw Air in Norway on Tuesday when the best German ski jumper failed a jump. As a result, she lost valuable points in the overall ranking of the hardness tour in the far north. The next day, in the qualification for the final competition during the two days in Trondheim, the Oberstdorf native was at peace with herself again.
123 meters, third largest distance, second place: The larger of the two jumps in the world champion ski center Granåsen is hers. In the evening under the floodlights, after a weaker first jump, she showed a much better second jump, which even took her to seventh place on 125 meters and in the daily ranking behind the Slovenian Nika Prevc, who won just ahead of the Norwegian Eirin Maria Kvendal.
“I like the challenge on the hill”
Katharina Schmid’s counterpart among men, Germany’s leader Andreas Wellinger, explains in an interview with the FAZ how this can be done. How you like a ski jump – or not. And what matters. “Of course that depends on how you start with the first jump and what character a ski jump has,” says the Olympic champion in the Trondheim team hotel. Do ski jumps have character? Like people? “Yes,” says Wellinger. “Some people like a short take-off table because they can do it instinctively. For me, character means a steep start or a crisp radius. So things that are out of the norm.”
So it depends on the character. And of course a lot of skill. How fast are you at the start? Can you time the right moment to take off and get into the perfect possible flying position? For Wellinger and the other ski jumpers, it’s also partly about the kick. “I like the challenge on the hill,” says the 28-year-old. What Wellinger also likes: “A long flight curve where you can get over the corner at speed and glide long down.”
Getting over the corner – an expression that you hear again and again when ski jumping men and women comment on the quality of their jumps. “Coming over the corner means that you can see the jump,” explains Wellinger. “It’s the moment when you pull into the landing zone at speed and know roughly where you’re going to land.” Katharina Schmid got over the corner well on Wednesday. The three-time world champion from Planica is predestined for long distances anyway. She can live out her dream of flying from Friday when Raw Air is on its final tour stop at Monsterbakken in Vikersund.
Getting a feel for the subtleties – that’s what ski jumping is all about. “You have to pick up the rhythm well,” says Jan Hörl, who lives in the same hotel as the Germans in Trondheim. The impulse jumper from Bischofshofen is one of the rising stars in the Austrian team. Someone who jumps high with seemingly brute force. “Here on the large hill in Trondheim things go faster, faster than on the small hill,” he says. “It’s a cool facility they’ve built here.” His teammate Stefan Kraft, the leading man in both the World Cup and Raw Air, is certain: “It will be a huge World Cup in 2025.”
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Wednesday was a huge day for Team Austria. Five Austrians in the top six. Places one to four for Kraft, Daniel Tschofenig, Hörl and Daniel Huber: A day like a picture for the crew of trainer Andreas Widhölzl. And the Germans? Pius Paschke came eleventh, Philipp Raimund 13th, Wellinger 28th. Karl Geiger achieved a special feat. The Oberstdorfer finally made it into the second round again – and promptly jumped a new hill record: 140 meters.
Geiger’s radiance on a windy and rainy day didn’t want to end. “For me it’s balm for the soul. It took so long for it to come loose.” Teammate Raimund, who fell after landing and therefore missed out on a better placement, was “extremely happy” for Geiger, as he said: “Karl had such a long dry spell.”
But it’s not just the feeling that counts when ski jumping. It’s also about “finding balance quickly.” Eva Pinkelnig, winner of the overall World Cup last season, is having fun in Trondheim. “It’s a really cool ski jump,” says the 35-year-old. “It is very harmonious.” Harmony, sensitivity and balance, says the Austrian, are not the final key to great ski jump success for her. “It depends on you having a bit of lard in your hands. Despite my age, that’s still there.”
One swears by “lard in the knuckles”, the other swears by having “steam in the legs”. At least that’s what Raimund says. The 23-year-old is considered the man of the future. But that’s not true. He has long since become a man of the moment, taking part in the concert of the experts. “Philipp is right in the middle of the world’s best,” says national coach Stefan Horngacher. It’s exciting to see that soft factors are also needed on the jump, just as much for men as for women who daringly rush down the inrun track. Wellinger sums it up: “Sympathy also plays a role in ski jumping. Definitely.”