Karl Geiger, ski jumping: luck in the luggage
In four years, the ski jumping world has changed fundamentally for Karl Geiger - for the better!
In 2018, at the Winter Games in Pyeongchang, the man from the Allgäu was still part of the team, in which most of it revolved around Andreas Wellinger, who made a big impression by winning the gold medal on the normal hill.
But Geiger could also be satisfied with his first international test, because he played his part in the group winning silver in the team competition.
Wellinger cannot defend the title in Beijing due to a corona infection.
And the burden of the expectation of adding another chapter of success to German ski jumping history rests primarily on Geiger's (narrow) shoulders, who this winter - with the exception of the Four Hills Tournament - was almost always able to perform as desired.
At the dress rehearsal for the competitions in the mountains of Zhangjiakou, around 200 kilometers from the Chinese capital, Geiger gained more self-confidence.
He finished second on the Mühlenkopfschanze in Willingen - and thus regained the yellow jersey of the World Cup leader, which he packed in his suitcase as a lucky charm.
he 28-year-old from Oberstdorf is a late developer, and one of his great assets is his strong nerves.
Geiger said he started the adventure in the unfamiliar Middle Kingdom with a "good feeling", "I'm passionate about the sport".
He has chances of winning on the normal hill, the large hill, in a team and in mixed.
(mah)
Francesco Friedrich, Bob: The accolade
If this decision does not even lead to the luxury dilemma: Francesco Friedrich as the flag bearer at the opening of the games.
The voters were guided by their feelings to put the super pilot of the bobsleigh channel at the top of the German team with Claudia Pechstein.
The Saxon didn't take long to take a look into his inner life: "It's a huge honor", "an accolade (like) in England", "phenomenal, gigantic".
Friedrich would probably also walk from his quarters in the mountains to the Vogelnest, the Olympic stadium of the Chinese capital, around 75 kilometers away, in order to be allowed to show the flag.
The message got through: "Franz", the emperor among today's bobsledders, is grateful from head to toe: "That is at least equivalent to the gold medal that we can." At this point, slight doubts should grow as to whether it is the end of the games, when Friedrich will have lined up to defend his title in both the small and the big sled, there will be a nomination problem for the closing ceremony: Friedrich is the Germans' gold guarantee, so to speak, chief driver of the scene with a small flaw this season: from 16 races with both He's won, well, 14 Bobs. The ice channel in Yanqing doesn't forgive even the smallest mistake. But that's what sets it apart from the competition. He hardly does any. It's quite possible that Friedrich will also hold up the flag at the end. At least symbolically. (ahh.)
Lena Dürr and Linus Straßer, Alpine skiing: Special connection
In September 2014, Lena Dürr and Linus Straßer won one of the smaller races in their sport.
They secured the German championship in the team competition for the Munich Ski Association at the Oberjoch, an alpine skiing location in the Allgäu.
A few months later, the International Olympic Committee awarded its Winter Games to Beijing.
Now, in February 2022, Lena Dürr and Linus Straßer, 30 and 29 years old, want to win one of the biggest races in their sport.
They will – Dürr in the women's competition, Straßer in the men's competition – compete in the Olympic slalom for the German Ski Association in Yanqing, an alpine skiing location near Beijing.
They are specialists in this discipline.
And medal hopes.