Andreas Wellinger didn’t want to let the small mistake stand.
When a journalist suggested that fourth place would be the ski jumper’s worst result of the season, he immediately protested. “I was twelfth in Engelberg,” Wellinger corrected with a broad grin. There was no trace of subsequent anger over his botched jump at the tour dress rehearsal.
After all, that twelfth place is actually a unique slip-up.
In the remaining seven competitions, the 28-year-old came fifth once, fourth twice, third twice and second twice – he consequently goes into the 72nd Four Hills Tournament as the first challenger to the Austrian high-flyer Stefan Kraft.
“We want to win them all,” said Wellinger about his ambitions: “But only one can do it, in the end it will be the best ski jumper.”
Schmitt analysis: “A stone falls off your heart”
Even if the 2018 Olympic champion is still missing a win this season: Wellinger is without a doubt one of the best ski jumpers, and after difficult years he is back among the world’s best. His victory in qualifying on Thursday was the best proof of this.
With his triumph in Pyeongchang, the then 22-year-old was promoted to the ski jumping Olympics.
“That’s awesome!” Wellinger, Geiger, Raimund and Paschke in an interview
“A few operations and a bit of experience” later, Wellinger is in the best shape since he tore his cruciate ligament in 2019. Wellinger recently said that he had mastered this “very arduous journey with many valleys” that made him “extremely proud”.
“He put together a good package, he is strong. The jump was perfect,” praised the former national coach Werner Schuster at Eurosport. “I’m really excited – he makes a very relaxed impression to me. If he gets out of Oberstdorf well, I can do anything with him.”
Wellinger: “The conditions are extremely good”
In fact, Wellinger is a hot contender for the first German tour victory in 22 years. “The conditions are extremely good,” said the Bavarian before the start in Oberstdorf. He can trust his instincts better again and is also “fitter than ever before”.
Last season, the Ruhpoldinger was the best DSV athlete in a rather mixed season for German ski jumpers. He was the only German to win a World Cup; at the World Championships in Planica he took silver on the normal hill. There was only one thing that always bothered him: his lack of consistency.
Weißflog: “Victory is only about strength”
He found it this season. The three-time ski jumping world champion Jens Weißflog also sees Wellinger as the strongest German contender for the Gold Eagle. “If I had to choose one, it would be him. He absolutely has the potential,” the 59-year-old told SID.
But like everyone else, Wellinger first has to face the top favorite: Stefan Kraft. “Victory is all about him, there’s no getting around that,” said Weißflog about the five-time season winner.
And Wellinger? He prefers to concentrate on his own performance. Kraft “will do his stuff. I only see a duel that I have with myself,” he said: “That’s the only thing I can influence. If I make my jumps, then I’m optimistic that a lot is possible .”
Kraft “very satisfied” despite seventh place in qualifying
KO duels and lucky losers: This is how the Four Hills Tournament works