Nordic World Cup: “Little Boy” suddenly became world champion

“We haven’t had that in 20 years, someone leaving school and marching everywhere. We won’t see such talent for the next 30 years, ”Klapfer said. Lukas Greiderer was amazed: “Now he is going to be world champion. I was no longer running well, I was just watching and chatting with the coaches, ”said the 27-year-old, who will start the team sprint with Lamparter on Saturday (10:00 or 15:00, live on ORF1).

“We were happy as if we all had gold. Really cool! Mario Seidl said. In the morning he noticed that his roommate was in a very good mood. “He was full of energy. Deserved world champion! “

“It’s great that such a star has risen again”

For ÖSV head coach Christoph Eugen, Lamparter joins the ranks of the great Austrian teams with his triumph. “You can put it in a category like Klaus Sulzenbacher, Felix Gottwald, Mario Stecher, Bernhard Gruber – these are the great Austrian artists. It’s fantastic that such a star has risen again ”. Gruber resigned a few days ago as Austria’s only individual world champion in the combination until Thursday.

The Tyrolean was only clear at the end of the race that Lamparter could follow him into his first world championships. “I didn’t realize it until I got to the finish line. When you cross the finish line as world champion, of course it is incredible, ”said the new champion. Lamparter entered the World Cup only two seasons ago, not two months later in the top ten for the first time and on the podium for the first time in the first race of the 2020/21 season. “It’s huge that he can be there now,” said Lamparter, who wept at the medal ceremony.

“This is a moment for life”

“I got a little excited, my eyes filled with water,” said Lamparter, describing the moments in the Schattenberg ski jump area. “This is a moment in life that will probably stay in your memory forever. Today was a great day, indescribable. It becomes more and more real when I have the medal around my head. I’m still like in a dream and I hope someone wakes me up soon, ”said the world champion.

“There are no days like this when everything fits. Johannes just put in a great performance and everything else went well. It can be of great help to him. I think Johannes has very solid feet, ”said Mario Stecher, ski jumping and combination sporting director. “He comes from a down-to-earth and down-to-earth family, and I think he knows how to correctly classify this great success. I also believe that he draws strength from success and will continue to work. “

Successful combination

The Rumer had come to ski jumping as a child through his cousin, the coach at Absam at the time was Andreas Felder. Lamparter stayed with him and he soon turned to cross-country skiing. The jumping speed and endurance required for cross-country skiing were perfect for Lamparter. “The combination of both is attraction,” says the Tyrolean, who brought this combination of requirements to a common denominator.

At the end of January 2019, at just 17 years old, he won his first individual junior World Championship title in Lahti, as well as silver in the sprint and bronze with the team. Last year he followed with individual silver and gold at the youth world championship level with the team, this year the great success followed again in Lahti, number one on the hill and on the cross-country ski track and therefore also world champion. “It was important for me to finish my junior career well,” Lamparter said three weeks ago.

Then the team competition was skipped because from that moment the attention was already on Oberstdorf. “That definitely helped him,” coach Eugen said. “This year he gained exactly this experience that he needed here. Because going there as a favorite (according to Lahti, keep in mind), and everyone expected them to win, it certainly wasn’t without it. But that is exactly what he had already experienced weeks before, and that is exactly what helped him in Oberstdorf. “

Necessary balance

Lamparter is served, in addition to the ÖSV team, by Patrick Murnig, who as a systemic coach has helped train the best athletes such as Chiara Hölzl, Stefan Kraft, Michael Hayböck and Mario Seidl. Murnig certified Lamparter’s enthusiasm, ambition and ability to let go of things that don’t seem so important to him. That gives Lamparter the most important balance.

The new world champion finds his balance in the family, but also in many social activities in his closest family environment. Music and Schuhplattler occupied an important part of his youth. His second sporting hobby was weight lifting, and Lamparter became the vice national under-17 champion. His sister Anna continues to represent the family in this line of business.