Karl Geiger happily high-fived his teammates, then gave the thumbs-up with a big grin. Germany’s ski jumpers made it onto the podium at the team competition in Lahti, Finland. In the line-up of Constantin Schmid, Severin Freund, Markus Eisenbichler and Geiger, it was enough on Saturday for third place behind Olympic champion Austria with the outstanding Stefan Kraft and Slovenia.
“We left a lot behind in the first half. But the boys were motivated for the second round,” said national coach Stefan Horngacher after the competition on ARD. All four athletes would then have shown a good jump in the second round. “I think we fought for this third place today,” added Horngacher. “Third place is really cool, I’m happy about the podium,” said Geiger.
The team had already taken third place at the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing. In the individual on Friday, Eisenbichler in fourth and Geiger in fifth just missed out on the podium places. Kraft, who won two individual world titles in Lahti in 2017, was already unbeatable at the snowy start on Friday.
Unlike the Four Hills Tournament (no spectators) and the Winter Games (hardly any spectators), the ranks in the traditional place for winter sports enthusiasts were well filled. “I’m really happy that so many people are here and that the atmosphere is back. That’s nice,” said team world champion Eisenbichler, who described ski jumping as “a childhood dream”. Sometimes the Bavarian was difficult to understand on the ARD microphone because the party song “Who Let The Dogs Out” roared so loudly from the speakers in the background.
All four jumpers contributed to the German podium place on Saturday. Eisenbichler and Geiger are always part of the German quartet, but Freund and Schmid also jumped more than properly this time. “After the second jump, I’m satisfied with my performance,” said Schmid. After the individual on Sunday, things continue seamlessly: First the Raw Air Tour in Norway awaits, then the Ski Flying World Championships in Vikersund, followed by the season finale with further ski flying competitions in Oberstdorf and Planica. For Geiger, the duel with Japan’s Ryoyu Kobayashi is also about the winner’s yellow jersey in the overall World Cup.
