After a gripping winter sports show, Karl Geiger was celebrated by 25,000 completely enthusiastic fans in the ski jumping madhouse in Oberstdorf. The local hero gave the German team an unexpectedly good start to the 71st Four Hills Tournament. Fourth on Thursday, Geiger was only beaten by the outstanding Norwegian winner Halvor Egner Granerud and the two Poles Piotr Zyla and Dawid Kubacki.
Andreas Wellinger finished sixth. Geiger worked out a good starting position for the further course of the tour. Wellinger could also be very satisfied with his start. “I managed a really good jump,” said Geiger about his jump of 134 meters in difficult conditions in the second round. Previously, the best jumpers had to wait a long time due to changing conditions. The competition lasted almost two and a half hours in total. “I’m already satisfied with the day,” said Geiger.
The 29-year-old has had a rather mixed season so far. Last year, the team world champion still competed on his home hill in the yellow jersey of the leader in the overall World Cup. This time he started in seventh place. A third place in Titisee-Neustadt as the only podium place so far this season is actually not enough for the ski jumping inventor’s demands.
Long flights during the tour dress rehearsal in Engelberg and a successful qualifying day after the Christmas break with his wife Franziska and his daughter Luisa made confidence in his own strength grow again. Although Geiger was not one of the top favourites, the anticipation of the start of the tour in his sporty living room was huge. “It’s a great privilege that I really appreciate,” said Geiger in support of the fans. “Really cool!”
For the first time since the beginning of the corona pandemic, the athletes experienced the finest party atmosphere at the Allgäu Ski Jumping Festival. Long before the first jumper took off, the fans were celebrating in the streets and alleys of the otherwise tranquil town. 25,000 ski jumping fans in the town of 10,000 meant a state of emergency. Brass bands in front of the pubs, an open-air stage, and even the police ensured a folk festival atmosphere: pop music and party hits rang out from the loudspeakers on a large police van at the train station.
Markus Eisenbichler was not in a party mood at all. The three-time world champion from Seefeld 2019 has been in a sporting crisis for weeks and experienced his next low point. For the 31-year-old, the competition was over in changing winds after a jump of just 115 meters after the first round.
“You really think the crap is going uphill now,” said the frustrated and helpless Eisenbichler on ZDF. “The condition is wrong at the back and front,” added the emotional Bavarian. He’s even considering a break given his ongoing performance issues. “I have to talk to the coaches to see if it makes sense to continue torturing yourself,” he said. In addition to Geiger and Wellinger, Philipp Raimund (14th place), Stephan Leyhe (20th) and Constantin Schmid (29th) also scored World Cup points. (dpa)
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