They would have needed a gigantic magic lamp.
But the burden of the first weak day of competition was just too big.
The best ski flyer in the world is not called Karl Geiger like at the last world championships, but Marius Lindvik.
One from the flying nation of Norway.
The most consistent of the Scandinavian team, who knew how to use the home advantage on the Vikersunder Bakken to win.
Ralph Weitbrecht
sports editor.
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Ski flying, "It's like Aladdin on his carpet," says Markus Eisenbichler.
It is perhaps the most apt description of this fascinating supreme discipline, which daring ski jumpers are always particularly fond of.
One for sure: Eisenbichler himself. "I love ski flying," he says.
But he doesn't always win.
Like now at the championship in the far north, which the Bavarian finished in a disappointing 18th place.
All was lost for Eisenbichler on Friday, when it was time to show the first two of a total of four flights.
"It was just crap.
It was really pathetic what I did," Eisenbichler said of his first flight, which carried him to a modest 185 meters.
It didn't really get any better after that either.
"I couldn't show what I'm actually good at here." Three more flights at 204.5, 213.5 and 206 meters corresponded only slightly to Eisenbichler's potential.
His friend and roommate Karl Geiger, the defending champion from Planica, also fell far short of his potential at the flying festival in Vikersund.
However, after an equally sobering first day of competition on Saturday, he still managed to finish in the top ten with two good flights.
The man from Oberstdorf finished eighth after jumps of 209, 199, 234.5 and 220.5 meters.
He was the best of the German team, but far from his dream of ousting large hill Olympic champion Lindvik (232.5, 226.5, 230 and 224.5 meters) from the top.
Geiger also separated a number of meters and points from second-placed Slovenian Timi Zajc and Austrian veteran Stefan Kraft, who jumped a world record of 253.5 meters here in Vikersund five years ago.
The sportsman from the Allgäu paid Lindvik "great respect that he conveyed it that way".
Geiger found the two-day overall performance of the 23-year-old world champion long-distance hunter "pretty fat".
Germany's best ski jumper, who returned from the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing with two bronze medals in the individual and team competitions, did much better in Vikersund with his number three and four flights.
With elegance and esprit, Geiger managed a halfway conciliatory end after the completely unsuccessful opening day.
"That's how you should have started yesterday.
I really enjoyed the flights now.
That's really cool," he said on ARD and explained the magic and fascination of ski flying: "It's like an elevator.
You pull up and get fast.
The Hammer."
However, the 29-year-old from Allgäu was never in the form of Planica, which brought him individual gold and team silver in 2020.
The other German ski jumpers were also only part of the supporting cast this time at the Norwegian Bakken.
Severin Freund, who was looking forward to this World Championships in his dream discipline of ski flying, finished twelfth, followed by Andreas Wellinger (14th), Constantin Schmid (17th) and Eisenbichler (18th).
Becoming world champion in ski flying - and then successfully defending this title: Only two jumpers have managed to do this so far.
Sven Hannawald won in 2000 and 2002, the Norwegian Roar Ljökelsöy, later German assistant coach, won in 2004 and 2006. "Ski flying was my world, but you have to keep to yourself," said Hannawald, who now works for ARD as an expert.
Stefan Horngacher agreed with the way his jumpers would have reported back in the individual competition at this World Championships.
The national coach knew: “We had an uncatchable deficit.
That's why we can be very satisfied today.” And continue dreaming of Aladin and his carpet.
In the team competition, on the other hand, Freund, Wellinger, Eisenbichler and Geiger won silver.
The German quartet only had to admit defeat to the superior Slovenians.
Norway completed the podium.