Positive summary, but:

ÖSV eagles are “glad we’re gone now”

Head coach Andreas Widhölzl

(Bild: Tröster Andreas)

The ÖSV ski jumpers, who set the tone in the World Cup, left the World Championships in the early hours of Sunday morning without gold, but with medals. "We're going home on a positive note. But it was certainly a bit disappointing for some of us. It was very mixed. I'm glad we're off now because the hill was really difficult to jump," said ÖSV head coach Andreas Widhölzl.

Of his top trio, only Jan Hörl lived up to expectations with silver and bronze. Eight-time season winner Daniel Tschofenig, on the other hand, fell into a slump in form at the World Championships, and three-time World Champion Stefan Kraft also failed to match his top form of previous years. "I don't need to be too upset because I knew that at some point the moment would come when things wouldn't work out for a weekend or so. It's not great, but crying doesn't do me any good either," said Tschofenig.

Daniel Tschofenig

(Bild: Tröster Andreas)

Because he never got going, the disappointment is limited. "I'm reasonably relaxed, there's not so much trouble because I knew it wouldn't be easy." Unfortunately, small mistakes had crept in, "but I can get my things back together relatively quickly."

Not downhearted despite failure
Tschofenig is confident that he will be able to defend his clear lead of 183 points in the overall World Cup against Hörl right to the end. "I'd rather take the World Cup with a smile and go home with a black eye and say, thank God Jan didn't take any points from me. It will be a battle and very exciting. He's in really good form, but I still have a bit of a buffer," says Tschofenig, who rates the crystal globe more highly. "For me, the World Cup is something bigger and counts more than a World Championships with two jumps."

Kraft, who, like Tschofenig, flew home with a team silver medal and mixed bronze, was also not too downhearted. "The overall result is very okay. With two medals it's cool and successful, but there's still a bit of perplexity after the large hill," said Kraft and emphasized. "As Ski Jumping Austria, we are very happy with four medals in four competitions." Missing out on gold, just like in 2023, doesn't hurt much. "99 percent of us can be very happy, one percent of course hurts because our big dream didn't work out. But that will bring us closer together. There will still be opportunities."

Stefan Kraft

(Bild: Tröster Andreas)

Hörl impressed across the board
Hörl could be happy all round. "It was a mega World Championships for me with four medals in four competitions. I'm very pleased that I've found my way back to the good jumps with confidence and heart," said Hörl after moving up from bronze to silver on the large hill following the disqualification of Norway's Marius Lindvik. "I didn't let myself get distracted and it turned out well."

Head coach Widhölzl had plenty of praise for the two-time individual medal winner, who had finished third on the normal hill. "Really cool, he remained extremely stable," said Widhölzl. He had actually expected things to be tight for his team at the World Championships. "That's why I'm over the moon that we won four medals. In Planica (2023), we got one in the team competition by the skin of our teeth. That's why I'm very happy." The Tyrolean hopes that his team can show more again in the World Cup. "We still have plans. We are one, two, three in the overall World Cup. Tschofe and the others will now 'fight' until the end."