FFifty got through – one didn’t: Andreas Wellinger. That would have been something. But he didn’t make it gossamer. The opening jump of the Four Hills Tournament without the Olympic champion from Pyeongchang – it is bitter reality. Certainly, the weather in Oberstdorf was capricious, and the other 69 competitors not only fought for the perfect coordination of run-up, take-off and landing, but also with the heavy rain that literally whipped through the Schattenbergschanze.
Mo. – Fr. at 4 p.m.; Sa. – So. at 6 p.m.
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In addition, the gusty wind made the athletes difficult. Adversity that played a trick on Wellinger. His qualifying jump of 108 meters was only enough for 51st place. Too little to be at the start of the 70th anniversary tour on Wednesday, when Ryoyu Kobayashi won. When asked rhetorically whether he was dissatisfied, Wellinger said: “I think that’s obvious and clear.”
Wellinger went through wave troughs. A cruciate ligament tear in the summer of 2019 had thrown him far back. He also broke his collarbone while on vacation in Australia in the spring of 2020. But the 26-year-old from Ruhpolding is not only cheerful, he is also a fighter. After more than a year and a half without competition jumps, he came to the Allgäu Valley of the Schanzen, was at the German championship in Oberstdorf – and finished 13th. The difficult ski jumping winter of 2020/2021 that followed did not turn out to be what the ambitious Wellinger had in mind. But the sun boy wouldn’t let himself be thrown off course.
In this World Cup season, the first encouraging results were finally achieved. The highlight was the business trip to Vogtland, where Wellinger finished sixth in Klingenthal two weeks before Christmas. It was his best result since the serious knee injury. The reward: When looking at the World Cup ranking, the name Wellinger appeared in 22nd place with 103 points. Far behind the leader and fellow tour favorite Karl Geiger (594 points), but also ahead of well-known jumpers such as the Slovenian Peter Prevc, the Austrian Philipp Aschenwald or the four-time Swiss Olympic champion Simon Ammann.
Participation in the 70th Four Hills Tournament should bring Wellinger more security and further confidence in his own performance. But now this setback. During the analysis, Wellinger was somewhat perplexed. “It’s really hard to say. It’s not a big mistake to be seen. I lack the ease. I’m a little bit cramped. ”On the other hand, he can already see clear improvements, because“ my body is working extremely well ”.
The tussle in autumn was big to get into the six-person World Cup team of national coach Stefan Horngacher. Wellinger did it with great will. He knows that in the sensitive sport of ski jumping, “the feeling is sometimes better, sometimes worse. Ski jumping is extremely hard and punishes small mistakes fairly quickly. ”Last year, when spectators were also taboo due to the corona pandemic and people jumped under floodlights in front of empty ranks, the qualified Wellinger finished 46th in the competition. A few Days later, on New Year’s Day on the Great Olympic Hill in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Wellinger was just a spectator. End of the line qualification. Like now in Oberstdorf.
Wellinger in the leader box? A lot has to come together in the future so that it fits again. For example, with the returnees Severin Freund. The oldest and most experienced German ski jumper, who thanks to his strong performances in the Continental Cup secured the team a seventh starting place for the tour, jumped into the inrun as second on the day when the weather in Oberstdorf was not good for the athletes Immediately in first place – and remained so until the jumper with the starting number 55, the Norwegian Johann André Forfang, overtook him and replaced him in the draughty box.
“It’s really a bit crazy and a shame,” said the former ski flying world champion, team Olympic champion and overall world cup winner Freund. “Before Christmas it was perfect winter weather, unfortunately it looks a little different now.” Freund also suffered another setback. At the first jump in Oberstdorf he was disqualified after the first jump because of a non-compliant suit.
A perfect winter for Wellinger? The Olympic champion has to be patient, work on himself – and believe in the magic of his sport. Wellinger is fascinated by ski jumping and raves: “Just feeling the forces in the air is impressive. That brings a wave of emotions that shoot through the body. ”At the moment, it is not feelings of happiness that keep the passionate ski artist, who is currently doing his license, on a wave of success. Wellinger’s difficult path back to old strength is long and arduous.
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