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Sometimes there was almost a hint of pity.
It would be nice if Karl Geiger could show what he's made of in front of his home crowd in Oberstdorf.
Top 20 maybe, that would be something.
Or at least the jump into the second round.
It wasn't about more.
Once from the second group of German ski jumpers into the spotlight, the place that has always been reserved for the others.
For years, Karl Geiger felt the same way at every start of the Four Hills Tournament in his hometown or while ski flying on the hill next door.
And yet he went on and on.
That he then contributed to the team's Olympic silver in 2018?
Drowned in the euphoria surrounding Andreas Wellinger.
This winter, however, it is Geiger who puts others in the shade.
From supporting to leading actor - as the most successful athlete at the home World Cup in Oberstdorf, the 28-year-old has impressively underpinned this change that has been slowly taking place since 2018.
The coronation, the team gold on Saturday, even tells four stories of athletes who seemed beaten.
Four stories that show: fighting spirit is rewarded.
The backdrop in Oberstdorf
Source: dpa / Karl-Josef Hildenbrand
The team success on the large hill in front of Austria and Poland turned into a thriller, at the end of which Geiger once again kept his nerve and, after the mixed team, also led the men's quartet as goalkeeper to gold.
"What he has done there, the greatest respect.
He made an awesome World Championships, I'm proud of him, ”said Markus Eisenbichler, who, together with geiger, veteran Severin Freund and Pius Paschke, won the fourth medal for the ski jumpers in these championships.
“I'm so proud of my boys.
That was our goal, ”said national coach Stefan Horngacher.
A year before the Beijing Olympics, a clear hint.
Geiger - from shadow man to clearer
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So on the one hand there is Karl Geiger, "a machine", as Paschke admiringly called him.
“He always delivers when it counts.” World Championship silver on the normal hill, World Championship bronze on the large hill, gold as the goalkeeper of both team events.
As the first German ski jumper since Martin Schmitt in 2001, he finished a World Championship with four medals - the climax of an eventful season, packed with many heights and a few setbacks.
The sensational victory at the Ski Flying World Championships, the birth of his daughter, corona infection and isolation over Christmas, his first home tour victory in Oberstdorf, then the setback in the overall standings in Innsbruck and finally second place - all within a month.
Then he lost his form, something went wrong towards the home World Cup, of all places.
But he did not let himself be unsettled, and so Geiger has now become the winner of this winter.
At the age of 28 he was jumping the most successful season of his life.
Karl Geiger is the Germans' guarantee of success this winter
Source: AP / Matthias Schrader
He, of all people, who was overshadowed by his teammates for a long time.
Severin Freund, Richard Freitag, Andreas Wellinger, then Markus Eisenbichler - they flew to the medals, they made the headlines.
And since Geiger has been playing in the World Cup since 2012, it didn't seem as if he would one day advance to become the top German flyer.
But step by step, each of them worked hard, he did just that.
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When he won his first individual medal with silver at the World Championships in Seefeld in 2019, he was still in the shadows - because Eisenbichler won gold.
But now it is Geiger who is pulling the others with him.
And who doesn't let himself be deterred.
"I've never been allowed to train an athlete who has such mental strength," praised Horngacher.
“He's an incredible athlete.
Hats off."
Paschke - the great encouragement for those who have been knocked out
This home World Cup was no less special for Pius Paschke.
Although he is far from the success Geiger has now, he celebrated the greatest success of his career with team gold.
His story may be the most astonishing, the most magical.
"It's the most emotional ski jumping day I've ever experienced," said Paschke on Saturday.
If Geiger is considered a late starter, then Paschke even more.
Pius Paschke - finally at the forefront
Source: dpa / Jan Woitas
At the age of 30 and at his first World Cup, he fulfilled the dream of success that many no longer believed possible.
This season, clearly the best of his career so far, had already indicated that his fight could be worthwhile.
Others would have given up long ago.
Because in the meantime Paschke was only allowed to jump off the jumps in the second or even only in the third league of ski jumping, it was simply not enough for more, he was no longer even part of the team.
The jump into the German quartet at a major event seemed several ski jumping worlds away.
But an astonishing will and initiative brought him into the team - and onto the podium.
Friend - return of the former guarantor of success
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Severin Freund knows exactly how it feels there.
It's just that these memories were a long time ago.
Like Geiger, Freund was not one of the child prodigies of this sport and had to work meticulously for success step by step.
But then he became a top jumper.
Ski flying world champion 2014, individual and team world champion as well as overall world cup winner 2015, tour runner-up in 2016. Friend, the guarantee of success.
February 27, 2015: Severin Freund shows his gold medal at the World Cup in Falun
Source: dpa / Hendrik Schmidt
But then a fall and injuries forced him to his knees.
Hip operation, two cruciate ligament tears, most recently a meniscus operation in February 2019, then back problems again.
His way back was long and tough, Freund jumped after, did not make it into the second half of the Four Hills Tournament, fought for a place on the World Cup team - and finally recommended himself for the World Championships in Oberstdorf.
It was a success that the former German top jumper even made it into the team competition - gold now the crowning glory and reward.
It was Freund's first World Cup after the title fights in 2015.
"You can guess what it means to me after all this time," said the oldest of the quartet.
The victory is "mega" and "unbelievable".
Eisenbichler even explicitly highlighted Freund "as a role model" and said: "I'm really happy for him."
Eisenbichler - the roller coaster driver
Eisenbichler himself has also made setbacks strong.
The bitterest: When he was condemned to watch the team's Olympic silver in 2018, the preference was given to others.
In 2019 he jumped free from the large hill at the World Championships in Seefeld with individual gold.
Skeptical view: Markus Eisenbichler after his fall in the second round from the large hill at the World Championships in Oberstdorf
Source: AFP / CHRISTOF STACHE
Last winter?
A setback, rather difficult for the 28-year-old, who then got off to a brilliant start this winter, but fell short of his own expectations at the Four Hills Tournament.
Things didn't go optimally at the World Cup either.
Only 17th on the normal hill, but then gold in mixed.
And again 17th place including a fall from the large hill.
An emotional roller coaster ride.
In the team competition, however, he was convincing in both jumps and screamed relief from his soul.
"The hips are extremely painful, including the ribs," he said after the triumph.
Then he thanked the team, his girlfriend and his parents with tears in his eyes.