Four Hills Tournament: The unsatisfied longing of German ski jumpers

JThe same question year after year, the same hope and a steadily increasing longing for the end of waiting. After the redemption for the German ski jumpers. Two national coaches, a number of former jumpers and today’s experts as well as five different contenders for victory have been confronted in the past few years with the following: When, yes, when will it finally happen? When will a German ski jumper win the Four Hills Tournament for the first time since Sven Hannawald in January 2002?

It is time. A sentence that has been said and written often since the German ski jumpers established themselves among the world’s best after many years of being mediocre and jumping behind. Sometimes they tried it with understatement, sometimes with serenity and sometimes in attack mode. They were often close, but in the end neither Severin Freund, nor Richard Freitag, Andreas Wellinger, Markus Eisenbichler or Karl Geiger managed to raise the Golden Eagle as a trophy in the sky of Bischofshofen. The Germans seem to have long since cursed the myth of the Four Hills Tournament.

On the 70th tour, which starts this Wednesday with jumping in Oberstdorf (4.10 p.m. / ARD and Eurosport), and 20 years after Hannawald’s triumph, the Germans are now making another attempt. “I have the hope,” says Hannawald, “that he up there is slowly beginning to understand that it is time again for a German to be at the top.”

Geiger: “I will attack”

Karl Geiger has the best chances given the season so far. The Oberstdorf resident, who won the opening jump of the tour for the first time on his home hill last winter, is going to the traditional event as the leader of the overall World Cup.

For many years he had to leave the limelight to others, then he worked his way up to the top step by step: 2018 Olympic silver with the team, 2019 World Cup silver on the large hill and last winter finally ski flying world champion, plus silver from the normal and Bronze from the large hill. The Four Hills Tournament was between these two title fights – and in the end he only had to give way to Poland’s Kamil Stoch in the overall standings.

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Freund (2016), Wellinger (2018) and Eisenbichler (2019) experienced something similar: In the sum of all four competitions, one was always better. The sticking point mostly: the third tour station in Innsbruck. Richard Freitag even had to get out there four years ago after a fall – he was second to Austria. “As part of the summer preparation we trained more on the Bergiselschanze in Innsbruck,” says national coach Stefan Horngacher: “The aim was to be able to pick up the rhythm of the hill faster and better.”

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But first of all there is Oberstdorf, where Geiger has been in the inrun with a good feeling, at least since his victory last year. “It’s amazing that I succeeded last year, especially since I know that the hill is not made for me,” he says looking back and promises with a view to the overall standings: “I’ll attack.”

Return of a German old master

And even if Geiger is currently clearly the best German, the team gives him strength. “Some people still lack consistency, but we are very compact as a team. The nice thing about this situation is that I’m not alone in the long haul. ”The former tour second friends, Wellinger and Eisenbichler are also there, even if their starting position is less comfortable than the Geigers.

For Freund, who has guaranteed success for many years and after two cruciate ligament tears in search of old strength, the nomination alone means a lot. But with his experience and his nature, he is important for the team, says Geiger. Olympic champion Wellinger is slowly getting back on track in the second winter after his cruciate ligament rupture, but he still needs time. He could not qualify for jumping in Oberstdorf. And Eisenbichler celebrated two podium places in November, but had problems recently.

However: That doesn’t have to mean anything about the Four Hills Tournament. The traditional event has always been good for surprises – for sensational winners as well as for unexpected comebacks or amazing falls of favorites. And a strong Eisenbichler would be far less than a sensation. He himself approaches the matter with optimism. “To be honest: We haven’t won for a long time, and with the ‘Yes, let’s see’ we didn’t get very far either,” he says: “So we can take it offensive.” The hope of an entire ski jumping nation but neither Eisenbichler nor Geiger wants to burden themselves.

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At least on paper, the Japanese Ryoyu Kobayashi, 2019 tour winner and currently runner-up in the World Cup, is Geiger’s main competitor for fame and honor and the prize of 100,000 Swiss francs (96,000 euros). But the Norwegians and Austrians are also eyeing the triumph, and tour and Olympic champion Stoch should never be written off anyway.

Added to this is the uncertainty in times of a pandemic – an infection with the virus would mean the end of all touring dreams. In any case, the circumstances mean that all four competitions will take place without spectators.

An unforgettable dream for Hannawald

However, Hannawald will be there, who not only celebrated the overall victory in 2002 as the last German to date, but also the first athlete to win the tour with victories on all four hills and thus had a unique selling point for a long time. “This tour was the best experience ever for me. It was the highlight of my sporting life, ”he told WELT AM SONNTAG, looking back. Thousands of people made a pilgrimage to the ski jumps early in the morning and stayed out in the cold, millions of people watched the screens.

“For me, the Four Hills Tournament has always been at the top. It was a dream. That I was able to achieve something like this makes me proud and grateful, ”says Hannawald. It took 15 years for other jumpers to succeed in this Grand Slam feat: in 2017/18 it was Stoch, a year later Kobayashi.

As an expert from ARD, who shares the broadcast with ZDF (Eurosport broadcasts in full), the 47-year-old will be in action in Oberstdorf at the beginning and in Bischofshofen at the end. And maybe 20 years after his triumph he will congratulate a German. “Any one of us should get this thing now,” says Geiger: “If it was 20 years ago: Maybe it will bring us luck.”