German teams for World Championships announced

German head coach Werner Schuster will travel to Seefeld (AUT) for the FIS Nordic Ski World Championships with five ski jumpers, this was announced by the German Ski Association (DSV) on Monday.
As expected, Markus Eisenbichler, Karl Geiger, Stephan Leyhe, Andreas Wellinger, and Richard Freitag are on the team of the DSV.

"Stephan Leyhe is our most consistent jumper this year, even if didn't achieve top results recently, he was fourth and the best German in the competition in Innsbruck during the 4-Hills-Tournament - he is always capable of achieving top results. Markus Eisenbichler and Karl Geiger were on the podium, Karl could even win. On a good day, they can beat everyone. But not every day is the same and that's why there also were setbacks during the course of the season. At WSC you need athletes who can win competitions by their own strength. For Karl and Markus it will be an important experience to be in this position at World Championships for the first time.

Richard Freitag worked very hard to get in shape. Even though not everything went well, the events in Willingen showed how fast things can chance in Ski Jumping. Andi Wellinger had a mediocre start of the season and was then struggling. The results might now show it, but there's an upward trend. When it comes to medals, Andi was our most reliable athlete in the past few years. He will have to be reckoned with, especially on the normal hill in Seefeld", explained Werner Schuster.

The German athletes are looking forward to the WSC, especially, of course, Markus Eisenbichler, who proved his very good shape with the second place on Sunday in Willingen: "I was on the podium a few times, which is something I didn't expect. I know that I can fight for the top and jump at a good level. It's nice that it's going so well for me right now, even if I also have bad days. Now I'm really looking forward to the WSC. I like both hills a lot and I have positive memories of the venues."

After his win on Saturday, Karl Geiger can also go the WSC with a lot of self-confidence. "The season went extremely well for me. I was able to achieve Top 10 results consistently and that was my goal. In addition, I took my first individual World Cup win, which was a great experience. The events in Lahti and Willingen were very important for the self-confidence and the feeling during the jumps. In Willingen I claimed my second win, and that on a hill that I was always struggling with recently. This was an incredible moment - amazing jumps! I'm looking forward to the upcoming World Championships. My shape is good and we have a strong team. If we can all show what we are capable of, then it will be great World Championships."

German ladies are the favorites
The German ladies team for Seefeld also consists of five athletes. Juliane Seyfarth, Katharina Althaus, Carina Vogt, Ramona Straub und Anna Rupprecht will fight for the top in all three competitions at the WSC. "The World Cup in Oberstdorf was a good final test for the Championships. We were very satisfied with the two podium finishes by Katharina and Juliane and the strong team results on both days. That's why we go to Seefeld in a positive mood. We know, what we are capable of and that we can fight for the medals in all three events. This is a good feeling", said head coach Andreas Bauer.