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Saturday 26 December 2020
Geiger worries about the start of the tour
Time is running out for the tall traveler
First he becomes world ski champion, then dad – things couldn’t be better for Karl Geiger in December, until his positive corona test. Now, the 27-year-old is hopeful that he can compete in the Four Hills Tournament. In any case, the association is making an exception for it.
The dream of winning the Four Hills tournament becomes a test of nerves for Karl Geiger even before the first jump. The world ski champion, who tested positive for the corona virus on December 16, is still awaiting official approval. The German Ski Association has a free spot in the lineup for the 27-year-old, Geiger’s nomination will take place “after the quarantine period and medical check-up”, but time is running out. Can Geiger until qualifying for the first jump on Monday (4.30pm / ZDF and Eurosport) They did not present a negative test, it was the dream of a victory on the tour.
“Of course, we hope that Karl Geiger can strengthen our team again during the tour. Karl has had no symptoms since the positive test. He is highly motivated and stayed fit and trained during the quarantine,” said national coach Stefan Horngacher, responsible of the exit. in Oberstdorf and the New Year’s competition in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, only eleven out of twelve potential athletes were nominated. Horngacher’s goal is to “jump for victory” and, if possible, end DSV’s losing streak since Sven Hannawald’s win in 2001/02. A fit violinist, as well as two-time season winner Markus Eisenbichler, can be expected to achieve great success. The tour triumph should “be equated with an Olympic or World Cup victory,” said three-time world champion Eisenbichler, concluding: “I hope I can win it.” To what extent Geiger was able to preserve its shape is an exciting question.
Three Olympic champions included
To what extent Geiger was able to retain its shape is an exciting question. The new father of the family had tested positive after returning from the World Flying Championships in Planica and went into domestic isolation. He has not been able to train on the hill since then and missed the last training course in Oberstdorf just before Christmas. The German tour team will meet there on Sunday.
There are three Olympic champions in Richard Freitag, Severin Freund and Andreas Wellinger, but each and every one of this trio had to struggle with their own form in the young season. Much is at stake for these highly decorated athletes: Starting with the third competition in Innsbruck (January 3), Horngacher will have to reduce his line-up from twelve to six jumpers.
Geiger wouldn’t have to skip the tour entirely. Horngacher had already made it clear before Christmas that it would “definitely” be possible to start a tour “for Innsbruck and Bischofshofen. Then, without focusing on the general classification, but these are also World Cups.”
“A shock at first”
As if they weren’t enough turbulent weeks for Karl Geiger: on 12 December he was proclaimed world champion in ski-flying in Planica and celebrated the greatest success of his career. Two days later, his wife Franziska, whom he married in September, gave birth to their first daughter, Luisa. Geiger’s world was completely pink.
Again, just two days later, a routine corona test came back positive. The result was “initially a shock” for the team, Horngacher said: “We were stumped and had to pull ourselves together, but then we dealt with it very professionally, Karl is also a complete professional.” While his teammates honed in on the Oberstdorfer Schanze, Geiger waited in the quarantine of things, he had to stay physically fit with light strength training and in hopes of a quick comeback.
