[ad_1]
In Oberstdorf you cannot win the Four Hills Tournament, you can only lose it. According to this ski jumper wisdom, the Poles are the ones who were spotted before the traditional event began today (live on ORF1 starting at 4.25pm).
After Klemens Muranka tested positive for crown, the entire Polish team was quarantined yesterday before the inaugural competition. Among them are defending champion Dawid Kubacki and two-time circuit winner Kamil Stoch, two favorites for the overall victory of the 69th edition. “We are very sorry for this decision, but to protect all other athletes, the health department had no choice,” said Florian Stern, Oberstdorfspringens general secretary. The tests of Muranka’s companions were all negative, but due to the more or less direct interaction between them, they belong to the so-called contact group 1. These protective measures initially only apply at the beginning of the tour. To know the full scope of the quarantine measures, one wants to wait for more evidence. “If these turn out negative, there is a possibility that Poland could re-enter,” Stern continued. A blow to the proud Polish team, who have been the outright winner three times in the last four years, because Oberstdorf’s absence cannot be made up for over the course of the tour.
No symptoms so far
“Sorry, but it happened,” Muranka wrote on social media. The 26-year-old, who has never been on an individual podium at a World Cup, said he had no symptoms so far.
Poland’s sporting director Adam Malysz was initially missing. “We had a test two days ago and all the results were negative. It’s weird,” said the former top jumper. In addition to Muranka, Kubacki and Stoch, Piotr Zyla, Maciej Kot, Aleksander Zniszczol and Andrzej Stekala are also affected by the quarantine.
The Poles are not the first cases of Corona in the winter of ski jumping: the Austrians have been affected twice, led by World Cup champion Stefan Kraft, Michael Hayböck and head coach Andreas Widhölzl, and the German ski flying world champion Karl Geiger was also out. But everyone is back for the tour.
