Heinz Kuttin decided to resign

As the Austrian Ski Association announced on Tuesday, Heinz Kuttin has decided to end his job as head coach of the Austrian Ski Jumping team.

After the last World Cup season ended without a win for the Austrian ski jumpers and the team could also not achieve the goals in the main events, like the Olympic Games, the 4-Hills-Tournament and the Ski Flying World Championships, Kuttin and his coaching staff were heavily criticized. This situation now also played a role in the decision of the 47-year-old.

"I'm sorry about it. Some people are simply more sensitive. I also ask the media to keep this in mind", Peter Schroecksnadel, the president of the Austrian Ski Association, said at a press conference in Innsbruck.

A successor for Heinz Kuttin, who was working as the head coach in Austria since spring 2014, could not be presented yet. Former Nordic Combined athlete Mario Stecher, who will follow Ernst Vettori in the position of sports director for Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined, said regarding this issue, that the talks have just started and that there are three to four candidates.

According to Stecher, coaches who are currently working abroad, like for example Alexander Stoeckl, who was considered a possible successor for Kuttin in the media, are not an option.