Friedrich Moch
Photo: dpa/ Daniel Karmann
When Germany’s men’s relay at the Nordic World Ski Championships in Planica sensationally stormed to their first medal since 2011, Jonas Dobler spoke of a “little cross-country skiing miracle”. The 31-year-old resigned shortly after the greatest success of his career. But the German miracle is far from over – the reinvigorated team also shone with spectacular podium finishes at the final World Cup of the season in Lahti, Finland. First, Laura Gimmler and Coletta Rydzek stormed into third place in the team sprint. On Sunday, Katharina Hennig ended an extraordinary season in the final race over 20 kilometers, also with third place. “I saw stars in the final sprint, but I wanted the perfect end to a great winter. We’ve come closer to the top of the world, that makes you want more,” she said after the race. National coach Peter Schlickenrieder is also looking ahead: “If we take the drive with us, we can look forward to great times in German cross-country skiing.”
In the pre-winter relay silver for the women and Hennig’s Olympic victory with Victoria Carl in the team sprint in Beijing were real sensations. At the World Championships, in addition to bronze for the men, there was also a relay silver for the women. Above all, however, the German cross-country skiers also came within sight of the medals in the individual races. Hennig, fourth in the Skiathlon World Championships, was only a few seconds short of fulfilling her big sporting dream of an individual medal. In the World Cup, the 26-year-old jumped onto the podium five times in the past season, including her first stage victory in the Tour de Ski. As seventh overall in the World Cup, she achieved the best German placement in 17 years.
After a long period of suffering, there is also hope for great success among the men: exceptional talent Friedrich Moch made it into the top ten five times in the World Cup. At the World Championships, the 22-year-old finished seventh and eighth in the skiathlon and over 15 kilometers – and led the relay team to bronze as the final runner. In Lahti he missed the final due to a sinus infection. “Friedrich Moch has what it takes to become world champion and Olympic champion,” says Schlickenrieder with conviction. He already compares his young top man with world champion Axel Teichmann, who is now also a coach in the national team. Schlickenrieder and Teichmann, along with other top athletes such as Tobias Angerer, Claudia Künzel-Nystad and Evi Dingebacher-Stehle, shaped the last era of medals for German cross-country skiers at the beginning of the millennium.
In the success under head coach Jochen Behle, however, the youth work was neglected. This is exactly what today’s management is concentrating on – just like on the topics of personal responsibility and team spirit. That’s why Schlickenrieder rebuilt the coaching team again after the sensational Olympic success. For the women, the Swede Per Nilsson, an internationally recognized trainer, has been hired. As a home trainer, Frida Karlsson has formed one of the world’s best cross-country skiers. In the men’s division, Marc Steur, who was able to gain international experience in Switzerland, has taken on the position of head coach. Under his leadership, Moch in particular has taken a significant step forward this winter. The lanky man only climbed onto cross-country skis for the first time when he was 13, which his father had given him. At 16 he won his first German championship title in youth, at 20 he was two-time junior world champion.
Now he has won the first world championship medal in the »big« category with a relay bronze medal. But that should only be the beginning of a successful era. Like Katharina Hennig and Victoria Carl, Moch still has the best age in endurance sports ahead of her. “We’ve been doing our homework since the Beijing Olympics. The two World Championship medals and many top ten placements including podium finishes in the World Cup allow us to draw a positive conclusion for the season. We’ve come even closer together as a team and have shown that we’re absolutely competitive,” summarizes Andreas Schlütter. After the season, the sports director and national coach Schlickenrieder want to set the course for the German cross-country skiing upswing to continue.
The aim is for the regional bases in Germany to pull together even more and for there to be no more competition between centers like Oberstdorf and Oberwiesenthal. After all, Schlickenrieder formulated a big goal: “One day we also want to beat Norway.” The dominant cross-country skiing nation won seven of twelve world championship titles, including all six for men. Johannes Hösflot Kläbo and Tiril Udnes Weng secured the overall World Cup. There is still a long way to go before these successes are achieved – but German cross-country skiers are pretty familiar with miracles…
