Lamparter with a handicap

“I feel like I’m fighting with blunt weapons”

The combined World Cup starts on November 29th in Ruka, Finland. Norwegian Jarl Magnus Riiber will once again be the big hunted. ÖSV young star Johannes Lamparter, on the other hand, will start the World Cup winter with a handicap. The Tyrolean has been slowed down by a persistent knee inflammation.

"That's fine. I'm at a good level, the confidence is there," said young combined star Johannes Lamparter with a relieved smile as he packed his jumping skis into the car on the Bergisel on Friday.

It was the last ski jumping session before the World Cup opener at the end of November in Ruka, Finland, and the ÖSV team will be putting the finishing touches to their cross-country skiing next week in Davos, Switzerland.

In October, the world of the 2021 double world champion looked very different. Johannes had to sit out two months of preparation due to a persistent inflammation in his knee: "It wasn't an easy time. I was afraid I might have to give up this winter altogether."

I can already tell that I'm still missing the finishing touches. I can really feel that I haven't been able to do any strength training for two months.

Kombinierer-Jungstar Johannes Lamparter

Lamparter seems to have made up the lost ground in no time at all: "I can already tell that I'm still missing the finishing touches. I can really feel that I haven't been able to do any strength training for two months."

The Rumer therefore also lowered his expectations with a view to the World Cup opener: "At the moment it feels like I'm fighting with blunt weapons. But the most important thing is that I'm pain-free."

Not the first handicap preparation
This is not Lamparter's first handicap preparation in his young career. Three years ago, an appendectomy and an eye injury threw a spanner in the works, while in the summer of 2022 he was slowed down by mononucleosis and Covid-19. Despite this, Johannes celebrated great success in both seasons.

He can be expected to achieve a similar feat in the upcoming World Championship winter. "A silver medal in Trondheim would be cool. I don't have one yet," he wished himself with a mischievous grin on Friday for his 23rd birthday.