What makes Wellinger's triumph a world premiere

Only twelve of the past 25 Oberstdorf winners have also won the Four Hills Tournament. For Andreas Wellinger, that doesn't matter after his triumph. Especially as the 28-year-old has achieved something that no ski jumper before him has.

Beer or champagne? After his emotional ski jumping triumph in Oberstdorf, Andreas Wellinger was looking forward to a liquid reward. "Definitely" he would treat himself to something, said Wellinger on the outrun of the Schattenberg ski jump. Just under an hour after his first victory in the Four Hills Tournament opener, the sold-out arena in the Allgäu with 25,500 spectators had gradually emptied. Thousands of fans had sung the German anthem beforehand, followed by a marathon of interviews.

"It was brutally difficult to get here, which makes me extremely proud," he said, looking back on some difficult years. "Fortunately, I always believed in myself." Wellinger tore his cruciate ligament in 2019, and on Friday he became the first jumper in the World Cup era to win a competition at the Tournament after such an injury. A world premiere then. "I had to bite a lot, but I always kept going with determination. I was convinced that I could do it."

The 28-year-old Bavarian rated his victory ahead of Japan's Ryoyu Kobayashi and top favorite Stefan Kraft from Austria very highly. "He's way, way up there. It's difficult to compare with an Olympic victory, but it will be in a similar category. Winning in Oberstdorf at the Tournament - in front of the backdrop - when 26,000 people are waving flags and roaring until you get to the bottom and then you get to see the one light up at the end," said Wellinger.

Opening victory as an omen? Difficult

He had "never" experienced such an atmosphere as during the anthem. "It's really, really nice and emotional for me," said Wellinger. After a rest day this Saturday, the action continues on New Year's Eve with the qualifiers in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Wellinger is no longer going into the New Year's competition as the hunter, but as the hunted. "I'd say that's a nice starting position," he said with a grin: "The first obstacle has been overcome. The challenge for me now is to jump just as far. If I do that, I can stay in the role of the hunted - and then anything is possible."

A look at the statistics shows that in the recent past, the opening victory is only of limited use as an omen for later triumph in the overall standings. Since 1998/99, only twelve out of 25 Oberstdorf winners have also won the tour. In the last two editions, however, Japan's Ryoyu Kobayashi (2021/22) and Norway's Halvor Egner Granerud (2022/23) both managed a start-to-finish victory.

However, the odds are sobering for the German jumpers: of ten Oberstdorf winners since 1992, only Sven Hannawald came out on top in the overall standings in 2001/02. Karl Geiger last won before Wellinger in 2020 and ended up in second place in the overall standings. But the 28-year-old has already left other supposed certainties behind him.

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Andreas Wellinger's success in ski jumping extends beyond just winning the Oberstdorf event. He also triumphed in the Four Hills Tournament, an achievement that has only been accomplished by a handful of skiers in the tournament's history. In fact, Wellinger became the first jumper to win a competition at the Four Hills Tournament after suffering a cruciate ligament injury, making his victory a world premiere in ski jumping.

As Wellinger prepares for the upcoming stages of the Four Hills Tournament, his emotional victory in Oberstdorf serves as a testament to his resilience and determination. His triumph in the opening event not only boosts his confidence but also places a target on his back, turning him into the hunted instead of the hunter in the upcoming competitions. With his win, Wellinger joins an elite group of athletes who have achieved success in both the Oberstdorf event and the Four Hills Tournament, cementing his place in the annals of winter sports history.

Source: www.ntv.de