Andreas Wellinger has actually made it: After hard years and the long road back to the top, he not only shone before the start of the Four Hills Tournament, but has also impressed since the start of the 77th edition of the traditional event: victory in Oberstdorf, third place in Garmisch- Partenkirchen, fifth place at the infamous Bergisel in Innsbruck.
As second in the overall standings, the equivalent of around 2.5 meters behind the Japanese Ryoyu Kobayashi, he has a good chance of winning the big one in the final in Bischofshofen on Saturday (4:30 p.m.). It would be the first tour victory since Sven Hannawald’s triumph in 2002. And this is how the 28-year-old ticks, who was considered a huge talent early on, became Olympic champion with the team in 2014 and alone in 2018, but also had to put up with a lot in his career:
Connoisseur
After jumping in Innsbruck, Wellinger said: “Now I’m going to really fill my stomach with dinner.” Quite a few people will have smiled tiredly at these words and the weight of a ski jumper. But Wellinger was serious. He loves to eat and cook and eats consciously and healthily.
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“Enjoyment when eating is important to me,” he says – and he is lucky, as he reported in a WELT interview: “I got good genes. The other guys on the team often envy me because my metabolism works so well.” Red or white wine with that? “Red wine. You can also have a drink every now and then. Preferably when there is something to celebrate.”
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But enjoyment isn’t just important to him when it comes to eating. Wellinger is of the opinion that you should treat yourself sometimes. “As competitive athletes, we inherently have to forego or willingly do without so many things that it is precisely these moments of enjoyment that we need. Just do what you feel like doing. If you do something that’s fun, the positive effect is worth more than the thought: ‘Actually, I shouldn’t do it, no, that’s not possible.’ At least that’s what I think.”
On the wave
At the age of ten, Andreas Wellinger received his first board as a birthday present. Since then, surfing has been his great passion after ski jumping. On the water he can work out and clear his head. “I just let myself be carried by the sea. “I really enjoy being on the wave and feeling nature,” he says. “It is extremely interesting to learn to read the sea over time. And to understand it.”
In the flow – in the air and on the water: Andreas Wellinger
Source: private
Wanderlust
Wellinger enjoys traveling to get to know foreign countries and cultures. After his Olympic victory in 2018, for example, he traveled with a backpack through Mexico, previously visiting the Philippines and this year Mauritius. “But,” he says, “one of the most important things is that I feel good when I come home.”
sustainability
With its new ski sponsor, Wellinger is setting an example and promoting sustainability. When he holds the two boards up to the camera after a jump, the logo of the “Wood Saves Climate” initiative is now emblazoned there. Wellinger: “Wood as a climate protector has my full support. It is a traditional, tried and tested and at the same time highly modern building and material.” As an ambassador for the initiative, he wants to help make the benefits of wood better known.
Football love
Wellinger has been a Bayern Munich fan since he was a child. His first jersey as a child was Roy Makaay’s. After his Olympic victory in 2018, he was even allowed to fly with the team to the summer training camp in the USA. The best learn from the best. Wellinger told WELT about a conversation there with Arjen Robben: “It was about training content, motivation and the attitude towards sport. I find it remarkable to see how he behaves in a completely professional manner before, during and after training and does everything he can to perform.”
Stadium visit: Andreas Wellinger shows who his football heart beats for
Source: picture alliance/nordphoto/Straubmeier
Could the football professionals also learn something from him? “I can imagine that some people could learn something from me when it came to balance. During some of the exercises, including with the Pezzi ball, Sandro Wagner and Arjen looked a bit stupid.” By the way, his favorite player is Thomas Müller. “Because of his nature.”
family Guy
He got his interest in sports from his parents: like Wellinger, his father Hermann attended the Berchtesgaden ski high school and later competed in the World Cup as a ski racer–missions, his mother Claudia was also on the skis, is a ski jumping judge and is involved in biathlon. Because of preparations for the Ski Hunters’ home World Cup in Ruhpolding, she missed the start of the tour this year in Oberstdorf. Wellinger also has two sisters, Tanja and Julia.
Practice early
It’s been a long time. The photo shows him 20 years ago – when he was eight – at the opening of a junior ski jump in Ruhpolding. Fear? He never had. “I was pretty fearless and over-motivated as a kid,” he says. It all started on a self-made mini ski jump made of snow in his parents’ garden.
Andreas Wellinger wanted to jump high and down early on
Source: private
Special bedding
As a child, Wellinger slept in Martin Schmitt bed linen. In a double interview with the former ski jumping hero, he once revealed to WELT: “It was purple at the bottom and top and in between there was a huge flying picture of Martin. I got it for Christmas as a little boy and was really happy.” He looked at Schmitt and added: “The fascination of ski jumping quickly grabbed hold of me. And now I’m sitting here, already crazy.”
Determined, funny, inquisitive
Wellinger, as he himself says, is crazy about tactical things. That’s why he also looks at other sports and observes how other athletes prepare to achieve top performance. And: “My sister once said: “Thomas Müller is just as much of a joker as you are, Andi!” Maybe that’s true. In any case, we’re both very determined.”
Fighter’s heart
A serious fall in 2014, a torn cruciate ligament in 2019 and other injuries, as well as sporting setbacks – in addition to his successes, Wellinger has also experienced many low blows. “Somehow I kept getting hit and had to deal with the situation,” he says about the time after his cruciate ligament tear. “But I had to learn that early on. Because it doesn’t help to complain.”
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Ski jumping legend Jens Weißflog says approvingly: “Returning to the top in this sport after such an injury was previously considered almost impossible. The fact that he did it is really strong and amazing.”
November 29, 2014: a fall whose consequences were less serious than initially expected
Source: picture alliance/dpa/Pekka Sipola
It was also astonishing that Wellinger survived the serious fall in Kuusamo in 2014 relatively unscathed and – with a little time and patience – coped well mentally. Wellinger lost control after a mistake in the air, hit the jump from a great height and remained lying down. Diagnosis: spinal sprain and dislocation of the clavicle joint. Not nice, but the then national coach Werner Schuster said: “Overall, you have to say that he got off lightly.” He was given time and carefully built him up again physically and mentally. Comeback two months later. “You can’t move too quickly,” said Schuster. “Even the biggest sun child like Wellinger can’t just take a fall like that into his pocket.”
emotions
Always friendly, always honest, a sunny boy. And he lives the sport – you can see that. Wellinger laughs and screams with joy, sometimes gets angry and also lets the tears of joy flow. This is what happened with his Olympic victory in 2018.
Tears after the triumph: Andreas Wellinger cries after winning the Olympic gold medal in Pyeongchang
Source: pa/Daniel Karmann/dpa
“I’m glad it all came out of me like that,” he says. “First of all, you can really see what goes on in the minds of the athletes who work towards such events for years. And emotions enliven sport, and the more emotions there are in the game, the more exciting it is for the spectators.”
Strong guy
According to national coach Stefan Horngacher, Wellinger has improved in terms of fitness and strength. His jumping height from a standing position: about 60 centimeters with his legs stretched on the spot. He does squats with one and a half times his body weight, sometimes even more. Wellinger weighs around 65 kg, so he does squats with a weight of around 100 kg.
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Collaboration: jwo
