German ski jumpers: “It’s through”: tour failure raises many questions

Andreas Wellinger stood reverently and looked wistfully at the magnificent scenery on the sold-out Bergisel. Deafening party music and booming bass meant that the Olympic champion could hardly be heard in the middle of Austria’s exuberant ski jumping party.

National coach: “The shot backfired”

Even 23 years after Sven Hannawald’s triumph, the Germans still have to wait for an overall victory in the Four Hills Tournament, while Austria around Innsbruck winner Stefan Kraft dominates at will. The German Ski Association imagined this – and their own performance – quite differently.

“We wanted to catch up, but unfortunately we didn’t quite succeed. We tried everything. The shot actually backfired,” said national coach Stefan Horngacher about his team, in which only Pius Paschke made it into the top ten in eighth place. A consistently disappointing performance, on Bergisel and also in the overall ranking.

Horngacher checks off tour

The 34-year-old Paschke cannot compete against the furious top jumpers Kraft, Jan Hörl and Daniel Tschofenig. The trio, separated by just 1.3 points, will compete for the golden eagle in Bischofshofen on Monday (4.30 p.m./ZDF and Eurosport) – in a kind of national three-way battle.

“The tour is over. That’s what the Austrians will do,” said the 55-year-old about his compatriots, who, with three victories in three competitions and eight out of nine possible podium finishes, bring back memories of the old Super Eagle days with Gregor Schlierenzauer and Co.

As happily as ski jumping Austria started the year 2025, things are still rumbling for the German team. Paschke’s team started the tour a week ago in the yellow jersey and in glorious sunshine. Wellinger and Karl Geiger, who didn’t even get any World Cup points in Innsbruck, were also considered podium contenders. And now? Great sadness. “Everyone is the maker of their own luck. The others are just jumping extremely well at the moment,” said Paschke.

While Austria’s fans celebrated the triple success until the evening at the Bierstindl below the Bergisel, the German team had to leave and get in the car, where they would travel to the team hotel in Pongau on Saturday. Horngacher claimed on ARD that he was not disappointed. “Otherwise I would have been disappointed for 23 years.”

This time Horngacher completely skipped the interview zone in the run-out of the Bergisel ski jump – a highly unusual occurrence in ski jumping. Even in the days before, the head coach seemed tight-lipped and annoyed by the constant questions about the lull that had lasted for over two decades.

Especially since the Tyrolean is already going through his sixth unsuccessful tour attempt as national coach and the starting position with hopeful Paschke seemed particularly favorable this time. “It wasn’t all bad,” concluded Paschke.

But not only on the hill, but also away from it, the Austrians are currently doing a much better job. While conversations with German athletes are sometimes abruptly ended with reference to the cold, Kraft, Tschofenig and Co. talk willingly and in detail about their current run.

Coach question is not an issue in ski jumping

In the fast-moving football business, the coaching question would now be asked of the German team. But ski jumping works completely differently in this respect. The sporting management around the coach and sports director Horst Hüttel thinks in cycles. The contract with Horngacher is only ever extended by one year.

The 2026 Olympics in Italy are considered a common goal for the two creators. Horngacher will still have to answer the question of why his athletes give in so often to the tour. And the answer given a few days ago that “there were always one or two better athletes” might not be enough. The disappointment with this tour is too great for that.

“Blink of an eyelash” between Austria’s trio

Wellinger will travel to the fourth stop on the tour with emotional memories. Last year, the Bavarian was still fighting for overall victory, but had to admit defeat to Ryoyu Kobayashi from Japan.

This time he can watch as Kraft, Hörl and Tschofenig determine the first red-white-red overall winner since 2015. “I don’t dare make a prediction because all three of them are so damn good at skiing. It’s basically the blink of an eye,” said Wellinger. At most, he joked, he was determined that an Austrian would win the tour. And once again not German.