Title fights in Trondheim: With “Seven Plets” to World Cup silver: Friday is rewarded

The dethroned defending champion Katharina Schmid was the first to hug Selina Freitag, shortly afterwards came the tears to the ski jumper decorated with World Cup silver. “I’m just mega happy that I could show such jumps in the competition. This is just incredible. It just pays so much hard work, I could just cry. It’s just nice straight,” said Friday, who took second place behind Nika Prevc from Slovenia.

The 23 -year -old Saxon enjoyed her special triumph on the sounds of “Don’t Stop Believin ‘” by Journey at the ceremony in the stadium. “It’s just wonderful,” said the overwhelmed ski jumper, who earned a medal after attempts at 99 and 103.5 meters. PrevC jumped a little shorter, but corrected this with the much better posture notes. Bronze went to Anna Odine Stroem from Norway.

Long in the shadow of others

In the Trondheim World Cup stadium, Friday was finally the focus itself. For a long time she had kept in the shadow of top athlete Schmid, formerly Althaus, and her brother Richard. The 33-year-old ex-ski jumper was just as live this time as Justin Lisso, with which Friday is in a relationship. “This is pure nature without being over it,” commented Richard Freitag on the authentic way of his sister, which gave Germany the first World Cup medal in Norway.

The teammates were also enthusiastic and celebrated with Friday in the opposite slope of the modern ski jump. “It is really deserved. It fought. It is like a golden one for her,” said Agnes Reisch, who took tenth place and will play an important role in team jumping on Saturday (5:00 p.m./ZDF and Eurosport).

Schmid: “She stayed so cool”

This also applies to Schmid, who took up 19th place – as the heavy rain at the end of the competition, her working day had already ended.

“I’m just happy for the Seli. She stayed so cool,” said Schmid. Friday had made headlines at the turn of the year when she publicly expressed in a TV interview that she received only a shower cream, a shampoo and four towels for the qualifying victory on the Two night tour. Friday is a strong voice for equality that the ski jumpers have been striving for years.

Friday has already been world champion in the Slovenian Planica 2023, but in a team and in mixed. So far, she had never got out of fourth place in a World Cup. The gripping final of Trondheim changed this. “She has her seven plum together. She has been jumping really well lately,” said national coach Heinz Kuttin on ZDF. The Austrian called silver “the reward for hard work for the whole team”. Friday has “always become cooler”.

Also second in the World Cup

In the World Cup, too, four times in series had last ranked four times, each behind the outstanding PrevC. After attempts at 98 and 100 meters, this could not be defeated in Trondheim.

For the further team behind Friday, things went less successfully. Agnes Reisch made it into the top ten as a tenth. Defending champion Katharina Schmid did not get past 19th. “She has to go through there. And we’re going through there,” said national coach Heinz Kuttin.

Luisa Görlich injured his knee in qualification and had to leave prematurely. Therefore, on Saturday, Friday, Schmid, Reisch and Juliane Seyfarth are at the start for Germany.