In the driving snow of Titisee-Neustadt, Karl Geiger and his teammates gave high fives: The German ski jumpers took third place in the mixed team competition in the wintry Black Forest.
Selina Freitag, Constantin Schmid, Katharina Althaus and Geiger were only beaten by the victorious Austrians and the team from Norway. The longest jump in the quartet of the German Ski Association (DSV) was achieved by Geiger with a jump of 134 meters.
"We can be very satisfied with third place," said men's national coach Stefan Horngacher. "It was a great, exciting competition."
The German jumpers had not had good experiences with the mixed team recently. At the Olympic premiere of the format in China, Althaus was disqualified in February because a jump suit allegedly did not comply with the rules. The competition sparked heated debates at the time. Other top jumpers were also taken out of the ranking. This time the jumping in front of enthusiastic spectators at the Hochfirstschanze was decided exclusively on a sporting basis.
Geiger convinces again
For Geiger it was the second positive ski jumping experience within two days. On Friday, the man from Oberstdorf made it onto the podium for the first time this season in third place. Also this time the best German ski jumper convinced with consistent flights. In the first round he jumped 130.5 meters.
Geiger is getting better and better. Around two and a half weeks before the prestigious Four Hills Tournament, after a period of weakness at the beginning of the season, he shows that he can be expected again this winter - even if there is still something missing for winning jumps.
In addition to the 29-year-old, Althaus also shone with good jumps and nerves of steel. Due to bad wind conditions, the Allgäu woman had to come off the take-off board twice before her second jump. After waiting several minutes, Althaus was allowed to jump and showed a jump of 130 meters. "She really stayed cool," praised women's national coach Maximilian Mechler.
On Sunday, the jumpers continue with individual competitions at the end of the World Cup weekend. Geiger and Althaus are then again among the candidates for a podium place.
