Four Hills Tournament
Wellinger on hole in suit: “It happens every now and then”
Now wants to hold back while cheering: Andreas Wellinger. photo
© Daniel Karmann/dpa
A hole in Andreas Wellinger’s ski jumping suit caused a stir during the tour. Before the New Year’s competition, the leader of the tour commented on this – and wanted to draw conclusions.
Wellinger added: “It was just stupid at that moment. I’ll just make sure it doesn’t happen again. I just have to cheer a little less.”
There was a hole in Wellinger’s suit in his right armpit after qualifying for the opening competition in Oberstdorf. Material controller Christian Kathol then told the Norwegian TV station NRK: “If he had been with me and I had seen the suit, he would have been disqualified.” Then Wellinger would not have been allowed to compete in the competition the following day, which he won.
Cheered too much
“I wouldn’t have jumped a meter further or shorter because of that,” said Wellinger about the damage to the suit. He also won the Oberstdorf qualification. “I apparently cheered too much, which is why he stood up when he threw up his arms.” TV images, among other things, show that the hole actually only appeared after the jump. It has since been patched up, Wellinger said.
On the first day of the new year he wants to extend his lead in the overall tour ranking at the New Year’s competition in Garmisch-Partenkirchen (2 p.m./ZDF and Eurosport). His goal is the first German Four Hills Tournament victory since Sven Hannawald’s triumph in 2002. Wellinger took second place in the qualification on New Year’s Eve. When asked whether the current form was starting to seem scary to him, he said: “It’s not scary, because it’s fun. I can reproduce it really well. It’s good in terms of body feeling. The control from the big toe to the tips of the hair works and That’s the crucial thing for me.”