Ski colleagues angry

“Cheeky!” Wildcard for Hirscher heats up tempers

The fuss surrounding Marcel Hirscher's return(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Marcel Hirscher is back! The eight-time overall winner receives a newly introduced wild card for the season opener on October 27 in Sölden, where he will start with bib number 31. Which, in turn, will upset one or two of his skiing colleagues.

"Personally, I really like Marcel Hirscher and because I have developed more and more from a giant slalom specialist to a downhill and super-G skier in recent years, this new rule only affects me marginally. I'm still annoyed about it," says Swiss skier Justin Murisier to Blick. The representatives of the International Ski Federation keep emphasizing that fairness must be at the heart of every rule, says Murisier. "But a rule is now being changed for Marcel Hirscher that is definitely not fair!"

Yule: No wildcard for former champion
His compatriot Daniel Yule is also less than thrilled. The athletes' spokesman explains that "nobody spoke to me about this before the FIS Congress. And if I had been asked, I would have said no to this wildcard for former champions, even though Marcel Hirscher is undisputedly an added value for our sport."

Ginnis: "That's not the truth"
AJ Ginnis shakes his head. "When the FIS says that this was agreed with the athletes, that's not the truth. No one in the Whatsapp group, to which all the technical specialists in the World Cup belong, knew about it," grumbles the Greek. "It reminds me of last year, when the FIS wanted to introduce the team combination. Back then, the world federation also announced that they had spoken to the athletes, although that didn't actually happen."

Leitner: "A slap in the face for every young athlete"
 Christian Leitner, Kalle Palander's former coach, has clear words. "This is an absolute cheek. This new rule is a slap in the face for every young athlete who has to fight hard for a place in the top third of the start list. Hirscher has won everything."

That's why the 35-year-old from Salzburg, who will be competing for the Netherlands, doesn't need any handouts. "Especially as he constantly emphasizes that he is not returning to racing with great sporting ambitions, but out of pure joy. I could have lived with it if the great old champion Hirscher had benefited from this special permit for a single race. But certainly not for a whole season," says Leitner. Even before the season opener, Hirscher is already making headlines - some of them unintentionally ...