When it comes to his body, Andreas Wellinger is relentlessly honest.

"My knee is broken, I've accepted that and it won't change anymore. The rest works well. I'm fully motivated for the next season and the one after that and I have no idea how many years left," said the Olympic ski jumping champion the start of the season in Wisla, which is being carried out as an experiment on green mats instead of white artificial snow. The 27-year-old Wellinger comes as a German champion and with a lot of self-confidence.

For the first time since the golden Olympic winter of 2017/18, the Bavarian, who was plagued by injuries, could again be among the absolute best in the world and compete with teammates Karl Geiger and Markus Eisenbichler. In addition to physical stabilization, the reason for this could also be a change in ski brand. "Changing skis is a building block that helps me to stabilize the jump," said Wellinger, who hasn't won an individual World Cup for almost five years.

"Jumps have become more stable"

In the upcoming XXL winter, which lasts from the beginning of November to the beginning of April, many things are supposed to be different - namely better. "It's ski jumping at a high level right now. My jumps have become more stable. The difference to the last two years is: jumps that aren't quite optimal still fly. If I can stabilize that, a lot is possible," said Wellinger. He doesn't pack his specific goal into medals or placements. The claim to "go to the award ceremony once in a while" sounds a lot more bold than in previous years.

Wellinger made it to the top of the world at a very young age and celebrated his greatest successes in his early 20s. Then came injuries, slumps in form and recurring technical problems in the vault. National coach Stefan Horngacher has now been working with Wellinger for the fourth season, and he also expresses great confidence. "In addition to Geiger and Eisenbichler, who are doing quite well, we got back Andi Wellinger, who jumped a very good summer season this year and set the tone in the team," said the Austrian. "He's definitely competitive in the World Cup."

Geiger and Eisenbichler have been prime examples of Konstanz for years. For Wellinger it would be nice to be able to confirm the level of the summer and to be among the best in the world. "The goal would be to be good on the gas for as long as possible and we'll see which competitions are particularly good," said Wellinger. There is no shortage of highlights, the Four Hills Tournament around the turn of the year is followed by the Nordic World Ski Championships in Planica, Slovenia (February 21 to March 5, 2023).

Schmitt is also confident

Eurosport expert Martin Schmitt is also confident that the bottom is behind Wellinger. "He was in a negative spiral. He tried hard, but it got worse and worse. The change of material is good for him. He's on the right track," said the former overall World Cup winner of the German Press Agency.

The relaxed, relaxed impression that Wellinger always conveyed in front of the cameras despite failures could have been deceptive. "Of course you also ponder in such a situation if it doesn't work for a longer period of time," said Schmitt, who primarily identified technical difficulties and problems with the jump at Wellinger. "Then you lose a bit of confidence. Of course you need that in a competitive situation." After the start in Wisla, the ski jumpers have a two-week break before continuing in Finland.