In the absence of numerous top jumpers, the struggling DSV Eagles are fighting for their lost form in Zakopane. For Karl Geiger, it could be the last chance to jump on the Olympic train.
Just four days after the final jump of the Four Hills Tournament in Bischofshofen, the ski jumpers continue with the World Cup in Zakopane.
It’s hardly surprising that one or two athletes are taking a short break with an eye on the Ski Flying World Championships and the Olympics.
It’s just not working for Karl Geiger
In the German team, Philipp Raimund and Felix Hoffmann, currently the two best jumpers, are missing, as they are supposed to recover from minor ailments. But other nations are also not traveling to the Polish ski jumping Mecca with their best lineups.
For example, the Austrians are foregoing Bischofshofen winner Daniel Tschofenig and perennial favorite Stefan Kraft. Ryoyu Kobayashi and Ren Nikaido, the best Japanese jumpers, have also returned home to Japan and will only start again at the following World Cup in Sapporo.
Chance for Struggling DSV Ski Jumpers: Geiger Under Pressure
However, the depleted starting field is simultaneously an opportunity for those who have recently regularly missed top placements. Primarily, Andreas Wellinger and Karl Geiger, who will form the German squad in Zakopane (Saturday, 4:10 PM in the LIVETICKER) together with Pius Paschke, are to be mentioned.
“I am grateful that the coaching team decided that I am allowed to travel to Zakopane and be part of the team. Competing is the right way, even if it’s sometimes tough and hard,” Geiger explained in his column on sport.de .
The 32-year-old is under the most pressure of the DSV trio. After all, he has not yet met a qualification standard about a month before the start of the Olympic Winter Games. The DSV requires either a top-8 finish or two results in the top-15. The best placement of the 2020 Ski Flying World Champion was a 23rd place in Lillehammer.
Considering that Geiger did not land in the top-30 even once during the Tour and was only 45th in Bischofshofen, the World Cup in Zakopane could be something like the last chance for Olympic participation. After all, numerous world-class jumpers are absent. Nevertheless, the Oberstdorf native will have to improve, especially since only one individual jump will be held in Zakopane.
Ski Jumping Star Geiger Shows Fighting Spirit
A week later, two more jumps are scheduled in Sapporo, which represent the last opportunities given the nomination deadline. Geiger doesn’t want to give up yet.
“A ski jumper’s life is rarely straightforward, and in my opinion, it’s now about not looking back and lamenting, but rather staying wide awake and working. I won’t be defeated that quickly,” he said, showing fighting spirit.
Paschke and Wellinger already have the Olympic standard in the bag and will presumably form the German squad together with Hoffmann and Raimund.
Wellinger benefited from a seventh place in the heavily wind-affected jump in Ruka, which was held in only one round. Aside from that particular jump, the 30-year-old has not yet placed in the top-15.