Killian Peier: No additional pressure after winning WSC medal

For Killian Peier, this past winter was the best of his career so far. The Swiss took the bronze medal in the individual large hill event at the Nordic World Championships and achieved a total of six Top 10 finishes in the World Cup.

But despite his success, he doesn't feel any additional pressure. "No, not at all. After the World Championships, it was obviously a bit more difficult to get back into competition mode again. There was a lot going on during the WSC, it was a very intense time. After that, I needed some time to recover. But after the start of the Raw Air Tour in Norway I was able to switch to competition mode again pretty well", Killian Peier explains in an interview on the website of the Swiss Ski Association.

The first medal for a Swiss ski jumper at Nordic World Championships since Simon Ammann's third place in Oslo 2011 was a very important success for the entire team, that also showed in the team's celebration on the Bergisel-hill in Innsbruck. "It is very important that you celebrate such beautiful moments as a team. You never win a medal alone - after all, you are training together the whole year, you are traveling together. Everyone on the team knows how much hard work and preparations are behind this success", said the 24-year-old.

According to Killian Peier, mental training played a decisive role in his improvement last winter. "I realized that I need additional help in order to further develop myself. For a couple of years, I tried to repeat my training performances also in the competition. Despite very good result at the beginning of the season, I never managed to remain consistent and have enough self-confidence during the entire winter. That was something that made me realize that I can't do it alone and that I need help in the mental aspect."

A lot of work was also put into the Ski Jumping technique: "I changed the position of the hands in the inrun and in the air and my technique improved because of that. We tried new exercises, for example, I was jumping with alpine skis and a cross-country suit. On the one hand, these drastic exercises gave me a better feeling and on the other hand, I also gained confidence. I saw that I can also show good jumps with this unusual equipment. This gave me self-confidence and it showed me: Yes, I can do this."

Due to his great results, Killian Peier finished 17th in the 2018/19 overall World Cup and was the best Swiss in this ranking for the first time, seven places ahead of his famous teammate, the four-time Olympic champion Simon Ammann.