Ski jumping – Four Hills Tournament: Pius Paschke against Austria

When the Austria anthem sounded in Oberstdorf after a spectacular triple victory, national coach Stefan Horngacher took off his red cap. After all, the man is Austrian himself. Before this 73rd Four Hills Tournament, he and his ski jumpers had worked out a tactic to finally achieve the first German overall victory in 23 years. He wanted to “use loopholes and insulate himself a bit” from the great interest of the public.

For his overall World Cup leader Pius Paschke, who was the top favorite, after the rather disappointing fourth place in the tournament’s opening competition, it looked like this that ski association press officer Ralph Eder abruptly stopped the interviews after a short time. There was no Paschke-Bad in the crowd of 25,500 fans in the sold-out Oberstdorf Arena, who had cheered on the entire German aviation team with incredible enthusiasm. When the Austrian winning trio Stefan Kraft, Jan Hörl and Daniel Tschofenig patiently faced the long round of discussions with the media after the award ceremony, the defeated German ski jumpers were already on their way to their team hotel.

In his luggage: Paschke is an impressive 13.8 points (the equivalent of 7.66 meters) behind tour leader Kraft. Eighth-placed Karl Geiger and last year’s tour runner-up Andreas Wellinger in 20th place have already fallen hopelessly behind in the overall standings. “The lightness was missing,” Wellinger analyzed aptly. This applied to the entire host team. The omens ahead of the ski jumping Grand Slam were better than ever: Wellinger had already won a World Cup, and Geiger was also on the podium this winter. And Paschke had triumphed in five of ten World Cup season competitions before Oberstdorf. The best record with which a German ski jumper had ever arrived at the Four Hills Tournament.

But the most important competition in the ski jumping world seems to become an insurmountable psychological obstacle for the German pilots the longer it has been since their last overall victory. Of course, with a view to the second tour stop at the New Year’s jumping in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, there were fighting slogans for perseverance. »Nothing has been decided yet. “We’re trying to keep Pius’s back free so that he doesn’t fight alone,” said Karl Geiger, formulating his strategy. And national coach Horngacher said that “Pius could jump even better” and that the remaining three jumps on the tour suited him well: “It wasn’t easy for him in Oberstdorf in front of this backdrop, at home, Rambazamba and the pressure of expectations.”

It is precisely this statement that sums up the German touring problem. The incredible energy that thousands of people radiate in the stadium with German flags is perceived as pressure. The opportunity to be in the public eye as a burden. A wrong attitude, as Sven Hannawald, who was the last German to win the Four Hills Tournament in the winter of 2001/2002, believes: “In general, we Germans are often the first to doubt and lose our cool. The Austrians are often a little more positive. You have the necessary lightness.«

This was noticeable at every moment after the outstanding triple victory on the Oberstdorf ski jump, which has been unpopular with the Austrians in recent years. “We are relaxed as a team and keep our seven plums together,” said third-placed Tschofenig. Jan Hörl was happy to say that it was just fun to jump in this team, “because everyone in the team is very close to each other.” Opening winner Stefan Kraft also found a “super cool group where old and young, funny and calm complement each other perfectly”: “Everyone was at my wedding and we had an incredible blast together. Now we’re pushing each other as a team for our big mission: to finally win the tour again after ten years. One will get through.”

The Austrians’ last tour victory was a decade ago, but before that the co-hosts had won the ski jumping Grand Slam seven times in a row. The last winner was Stefan Kraft in 2014 after an opening victory in Oberstdorf. The athlete is now 31. The last Austrian triple victory at the start of the tour in Oberstdorf was 13 years ago, and even then the overall victory later went to Austria.

The secret to the new strength of the Austrian airlines? In addition to the exceptional team spirit, top jumping form and perfect material, Austria head coach Andreas Widhölzl also plays a major role. The 48-year-old won the tour himself in 2000 and stole the show from Martin Schmitt, who was the favorite. “Andi gives us all the freedom to be who we are,” praised Kraft. Widhölzl himself believes that lightness is the right strategy – in contrast to the Germans’ isolationist tactics: “Now come the redoubts that are ours. We will support the boys in absorbing the enthusiasm of the fans and remaining positive.” One can only take one’s hat off to this attitude.