Interview with Hannawald

ÖSV eagles in crisis? “Maybe it’s just a calculation!”

Sven Hannawald was the first ski jumper to win all four competitions of the Four Hills Tournament and is now an ARD expert.(Bild: GEPA)

The ski jumping season is now going from strength to strength - first comes the legendary Four Hills Tournament, followed a month later by the Olympic Games. While the ÖSV eagles were able to build on their old successes at the start of the new season, they are currently struggling. Just a snapshot? Sportkrone.at spoke to ski jumping legend Sven Hannawald about this. The German - now active as an ARD expert - also draws a general interim conclusion and dares to look ahead to the upcoming highlights of the season. 

"Sportkrone.at": Sven, the current ski jumping season is heading towards its highlights. It starts with the Four Hills Tournament. Who is your favorite to win the overall title?
Sven Hannawald: Definitely Domen Prevc by far! Although I didn't really have that on my radar. I actually thought he would be one of the first to have a massive problem when the suit gets tighter. But Domen proved me wrong. It remains to be seen whether he will ultimately manage to win the Tour as overall World Cup leader - and thus become the first person in years to do so in yellow. But it's about time again. He doesn't get rattled easily either, so he's my clear favorite. His biggest challenger is certainly Ryoyu Kobayashi, with all his experience. But the Germans Felix Hoffmann and Phlilipp Raimund also have the basics. Maybe they can surprise us. Of course, the Austrians are always a force to be reckoned with, even if I find it difficult to name a specific member of the ÖSV team this year.

The ÖSV eagles have made an extremely promising start to the new season. In the meantime, however, things no longer seem to be going according to plan. How can you explain this - seemingly sudden - drop in performance?
Based on all the experiences of the past few years, I wouldn't rule out a tactical calculation behind it. Especially because I've already seen that they've had competitions where they've really worked and not much has actually changed in terms of the characteristics of the hill or other things. Of course, it's possible that others are coping better with the circumstances and the Austrians will have to see what they can change now to get back to the top. But I don't think so. I think they already know what it's all about. And the history of the tour shows that the ÖSV eagles are always a force to be reckoned with. I can remember a year where they didn't get anything right in the run-up - and in the end it was Tour victory for Austria. So this team can set itself up so cleverly that certain things that work well aren't even shown in the run-up.

Stefan Kraft has broken another record this year. He is one of the few jumpers who can deliver consistently good performances over many years. What is his secret?
Stefan Kraft still fascinates me. I take my hat off to how he has managed to keep working his way up over decades, with all the rule changes, and in the end to be the one who somehow always has a medal hanging around his neck. That demands the greatest respect. I simply find it admirable how you can motivate yourself over so many years to keep finding ways, even when things don't work out. After all, he has also experienced bad times. But in the end, Stefan Kraft never loses his cool. He always fights to the end. Even the battle for the tours only ends for him with the last jump in Bischofshofen. And as a competitor you realize that you can't rest, that you can't rest on your laurels, because you know it's always possible that he'll somehow come around the corner again and end up in front. 

It seems as if many ski jumpers have very dominant phases and then suddenly disappear into the big field again. A good example from last year is your compatriot Pius Paschke. Why do some people suddenly stop performing after a strong phase?
It often has to do with rule changes in ski jumping. As a jumper, you either just fit in at the moment or you don't anymore. Pius Paschke actually has the tighter suits now, but he's too brash. From my point of view, he has to learn to incorporate this sensitivity into his jump. But these are the parameters why nothing really changes physically from jumper to jumper. There's just a change from one season to the next, there's something different going on, and then you have to see how you can make it work for yourself again.

Pius Paschke(Bild: AP/ASSOCIATED PRESS)

The suit scandal in the Norwegian team shook the sport of ski jumping at the end of last season. Since then, the Norwegians have been vehemently calling for the issue to finally be put to rest and you get the impression that it is fading into the background again. You have often made critical comments on the subject. Do you believe that the scandal has caused lasting damage to the sport's image?
I'm also trying to make up for the damage to my image by not really wanting to comment on the topic anymore. What I said still stands. It still annoys me that the players simply act as if nothing has happened. That's not going to change. I've come to terms with that now. And accordingly, I have to find a way to avoid it. The FIS has scheduled a penalty, but it was held in the summer. That makes no sense to me. But when I look at the athletes who were involved in the scandal, they occasionally make a good jump, but are not where they were last season in the results list. That's ok, I've found a bit of peace with that. But I don't want to give this topic too much space at the start of the tour, because in the end the tour is far too important for me. 

On the other hand, two ski jumping dinosaurs are doing positive advertising for the sport. Simon Ammann and Noriaki Kasai in particular are still keen to compete despite their advanced age. Do you think one or even both of these athletes can qualify for the Olympic Games?
Well, I would be happy for both of them. They come from the time when I was still active as a ski jumper. We had a great time together. Noriaki was around before my time, of course (laughs). But I generally like the Japanese. It's simply a nation that still exemplifies respect and politeness today. That's why I feel extremely connected to this nation. Of course, I would hope that both of them will be able to experience the Olympic Games again. You probably also realize that they have nothing to do with the outcome or the awarding of the medals 80 percent of the time. But at that age, if you're still jumping, it's almost a gold medal to be able to compete at all. My fingers are crossed for both of them. And I hope that I'll be able to commentate on them at the end of the Olympics.