Four Hills Tournament
Ski jumpers look forward to a rest day: “Definitely very good”
Andreas Wellinger in action. photo
© Daniel Karmann/dpa
After a tight program, the ski jumpers around hopeful Wellinger can take a short breather during the tour. The 28-year-old talks about envy in the team – but not on a sporting level.
From the point of view of national ski jumping coach Stefan Horngacher, the break is coming The Four Hills Tournament came at just the right time for Andreas Wellinger.
“The rest day is definitely very good for us,” said Horngacher about the day without competition. “There’s a lot of hustle and bustle, especially for the people who are at the front. It’s been full of excitement for four days in a row now. It’s definitely worth shutting down again.” He himself could use a little relaxation. “It’s better not to talk about my nerves. It’s already exhausting,” admitted Horngacher.
“Jealous of my plate”
After qualifying on New Year’s Eve and the traditional New Year’s competition in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Wellinger, who came second in the tour, and his colleagues went straight to Innsbruck. The jumpers had planned another overnight stay there before they wanted to travel on to Bischofshofen today. The qualification will take place there on Friday and the grand tour finale will take place the following day.
“Now I’m going to really fill my stomach with dinner,” Wellinger announced after fifth place at Bergisel. The 28-year-old, who is around two and a half meters behind the Japanese Ryoyu Kobayashi, also explained with a smile: “The others are always jealous of my plate because there is usually twice as much on it.” He wants to use the rest day to sleep in, do athletic training and physiotherapy.