Four Hills Tournament
Wellinger’s promise after missing a tour victory
The German Andreas Wellinger in the finish area. photo
© Daniel Karmann/dpa
Andreas Wellinger would like to have four more competitions on the tour. After his second place he is disappointed – and is fighting.
At the end of a highly emotional Four Hills Tournament, he was visibly disappointed Andreas Wellinger a promise. “At some point we will crack the planer so that the golden eagle is with us again,” said the 28-year-old in the drifting snow in Bischofshofen. “We want it every year. At some point we can’t stop it.”
The German ski jumpers had not been as close to the longed-for tour victory as they were this winter for a long time. Wellinger had a thrilling duel with Ryoyu Kobayashi. In the end he had to watch as the outstanding Japanese lifted the shiny trophy into the sky.
After strenuous days with high pressure, Wellinger was exhausted. The longing to win the first German tour title since Sven Hannawald in 2002 was still so great that he said: “As far as I’m concerned, we could add four more competitions, then I would have four more chances to catch up.”
Consolation from Hannawald
Wellinger was torn in his assessment of his tour. He was fundamentally proud of his achievement. The images of Kobayashi cheering in front of thousands of German fans at the grand finale of the ski jump spectacle in Pongau still hurt. Before the last competition, Kobyashi was only 2.67 meters ahead of Wellinger. The German was 13.61 meters behind in the final tally.
Hannawald, who thanked Wellinger on ARD for “a sensational tour,” provided consolation. His teammates, Wellinger’s girlfriend and his family also suffered. Buddy Stephan Leyhe gave his roommate a warm hug. Youngster Philipp Raimund said: “We definitely hoped that the media would calm down at some point.” In 2018, Wellinger had already come second on the tour. In 2019, Markus Eisenbichler and in 2021 Karl Geiger missed the big triumph by just one place.
“Mister Four Hills Tournament”
Opening victory in Oberstdorf, third place in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and then two fifth places: the Bavarian didn’t really have any major weaknesses. Wellinger triggered a hype at the jumps that was reminiscent of the great times of Hannawald and Martin Schmitt. Fans screamed his name, and the mood in many places was even more exuberant than usual. But it didn’t help. With four second places, Kobayashi was the more consistent of two strong jumpers. “Ryoyu was simply better, you have to admit that without envy,” said Wellinger.
The Japanese, who the stadium announcer in Bischofshofen aptly referred to as “Mister Four Hills Tournament” on Saturday evening, already celebrated his third tour victory. He thus caught up with the Pole Kamil Stoch and the former GDR jumper Helmut Recknagel. Only five-time winner Janne Ahonen from Finland and Jens Weißflog (four) have more titles.
Kobayashi mentally stronger?
Kobayashi is not just a sporting phenomenon. While his fellow jumpers from Germany, Austria and Poland talk about their achievements and their emotions in real interview marathons at every stop on the tour, the 27-year-old now gives legendary short interviews and reveals virtually nothing about himself. National coach Stefan Horngacher does not want to accept that Kobayashi is mentally stronger than Wellinger and may have won the tour for this reason.
“Andi’s mental strength outweighs Ryoyu,” he said. “Ryoyu has nothing to do at all. He goes there for a while, does his English interview, then he goes home. Andi has something on his screen day and night, that’s a different thing. From the mental side, he’s done well. ” Horngacher praised Wellinger for an “amazing show” and a “super performance” – even without a golden victory trophy.