Schmid feels "not so cool" on two-hill tour
For the German female ski jumpers, the tour, which was downgraded to half a four-hill tour at the turn of the year following Austria's withdrawal, ended in disappointment. World champion Schmid struggles after finishing outside the top 10 and it remains unclear whether the women will achieve the same status as the men in the future.
Ski jumping world champion Katharina Schmid also clearly missed out on a top result in her home event at the end of the "two-hill tour". In the first women's New Year's competition in Oberstdorf, the 27-year-old was unable to finish higher than 16th place in her home town after Austrian Eva Pinkelnig won. Slovenia's Nika Prevc, who had won the opening competition in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, secured overall victory in the premiere of the Two Nights Tournament in fifth place. No German jumper finished in the top 10 of the TNT ranking.
"It didn't feel so great," said Schmid on ZDF after the three-time title winner of the 2023 World Championships in Planica had once again fallen short of her great potential: "I'm lacking confidence. It's going in the right direction, but it's tough."
Schmid flew to 120.0 and 113.5 meters on the Schattenberg, with 236.0 points she was only the third-best German behind Agnes Reisch in eleventh place and Selina Freitag in 13th place. Schmid was separated from the very best jumpers by many meters on Monday.
In the overall ranking, Schmidt was the best German jumper in 13th place with a total of 457.9 points. Freitag finished the tour in 18th place. Juliane Seyfarth in 21st, Anna Rupprecht in 22nd, Reisch in 29th and Luisa Goerlich in 30th also made it into the top 30.
Austria must now decide
Overall World Cup winner Pinkelnig, who only made her season debut in Partenkirchen after a long injury break, secured the day's victory with jumps of 132.5 and 129.0 meters (272.1) ahead of Canada's Abigail Strate (269.4) as well as Eirin Marie Kvandal from Norway and Austria's Jacqueline Seifriedsberger (261.6), who tied on points.
Fifth place was enough for the 18-year-old Prevc to take the overall victory (527.7 points) ahead of Pinkelnig (518.1) and Strate (516.8). Tour victories are a tradition in the Prevc family: Nika's older brother Peter won the Four Hills Tournament in 2015/16. A complete women's tour had actually already been decided for this winter, but Austria's federation backed out.
"But it was mega what Garmisch put on here. Thanks to the DSV," said Austrian Pinkelnig after the first jump on Saturday. After her victory on Monday, she added. "It's crazy! A big thank you to the team, who have given me such a boost over the last eight weeks that I was able to come back like this. It feels like a home win for me, I only live an hour away from here," she said. "The atmosphere here was great. I hope there's more to come in the next few years."
While the men's Four Hills Tournament reaches its sporting climax with the competitions in Innsbruck on Wednesday and Bischofshofen on Saturday, the women will be competing far away on Wednesday and Thursday in Carinthia on the small hill in Villach. Whether there will be a real women's Four Hills Tournament in the near future is the responsibility of the Austrian Ski Association. "We very much hope that the ÖSV will follow suit," said German sports director Horst Hüttel.
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Despite her home advantage, World Champion Schmid failed to secure a top result in ski jumping, finishing the women's New Year's competition in Oberstdorf in 16th place. This disappointment continues a trend for Schmid in Women's Winter sports, as she struggles to match her previous success in ski jumping events.
Source: www.ntv.de
