“I want to be the best ski jumper in the world,” said Marita Kramer before the start of the season. The 20-year-old immediately followed up with actions. Four wins in six World Cups so far, most recently the superior double in Klingenthal, speak for themselves. The Salzburg native, born in Apeldoorn in the Netherlands, but at home in Maria Alm, could now fly around the ears of the competition tomorrow (3.30 p.m., live on ORF 1) at the home game in Ramsau.
“The hill is good for her, it already proved that last year with two victories. And this year it is even stronger,” says ski jumping legend Andreas Goldberger. The Innviertler, for the ORF in the expert mission in the Ramsau, sees Kramer more broadly positioned than everyone else. “It will take our sport to a new level in the coming years if it stays healthy. Its flight system is already mature, the material is ideally adjusted, body size and weight just fit.”
The 1.71 meters of the high-flyer are not a disadvantage. “She has completely different levers,” believes ÖSV head coach Harald Rodlauer. Kramer did her homework in preparation. “The landing has become much safer, so she had problems last season,” said Goldberger. Kramer himself had repeatedly identified telemark as a weak point. With their current distance dominance, perfect landings are only a bonus anyway.
Money could also help Kramer on the 1999 World Championships hill. The ÖSV initiates its own “Alpenkrone” rating in Ramsau. In addition to the World Cup in Styria, this includes the two Hinzenbach competitions at the end of February. There is an additional 10,000 euros for the overall winner. “This is a great thing. You can see that it is developing in the right direction,” said Kramer happily. The end of the flagpole for women has not yet been reached. “More competitions on large hills, our own tour, more prize money in general: that would make our sport even more interesting,” believes Kramer.
Leadership instead of the end of a career
In 2019, at 17, after an unsuccessful season, she was about to end her career. Now Kramer is laughing from the top of the World Cup and could land the big coup in this form at the Olympics in Beijing in less than two months. But for the time being, Ramsau is all the rage. And there the young hopper has big plans again.
Source: Nachrichten
