The German ski jumpers around Katharina Althaus won the World Cup gold medal as a team. Althaus, Anna Rupprecht, Luisa Görlich and Selina Freitag prevailed on Saturday in Planica, Slovenia, ahead of second-placed Austria and Norway on bronze. For Althaus, less than 48 hours after her individual title, it was her second gold in the valley of the hills. The 26-year-old from Oberstdorf is in the form of her life. “Congratulations to the girls. I’m just happy and exhausted,” said national coach Maximilian Mechler on ZDF.
Around 1,500 spectators, who created a good atmosphere with loud horns and flags, saw a real ski jumping thriller. The German flight artists showed strong competition from the start. The team from the German Ski Association (DSV) was already leading after the first round – albeit by a very small margin. Norway followed close behind Germany. Also Austria around the overall World Cup leader Eva Pinkelnig, the Slovenian hosts and Japan were not far away.
With sets of 97 and 94.5 meters, Althaus once again stood out in Mechler’s team on the normal hill. The Allgäu native, who had previously won five World Championship gold medals in her career, is particularly strong again this winter. Six World Cup victories in the current season underline this. Rupprecht also showed her class in the impressive mountains of Planica with a jump of 99 meters in the second round.
“I was really, really nervous, but I did my stuff really well,” said Rupprecht on ZDF when victory was not yet certain. The German Nordic combined athletes, watching in partly sunny weather, were delighted with the performance of their teammates. At the home World Championships in Oberstdorf two years ago, the German quartet, as defending champions, had finished a disappointing fifth place. The DSV team is also one of the medal candidates in the mixed men’s competition this Sunday. Althaus is also looking forward to the large hill competition, for which her own fan bus from her Allgäu homeland has announced that she will be there.
