Thomas Aasen Markeng on the Norwegian team for Seefeld
Feb 18, 2019·Ski Jumping
As the Norwegian Ski Association announced on Monday, Junior World Champion Thomas Aasen Markeng made the Norwegian team for the World Championships in Seefeld (AUT).
The 18-year-old, who returned home from the Junior WSC in Lahti (FIN) a few weeks ago with an individual gold medal and two silver medals (team, mixed team) and made his World Cup debut in Willingen last weekend, was named to the team for the upcoming World Championships by head coach Alexander Stoeckl.
"In the first few seconds, I was not sure whether my name was really mentioned. I didn't expect to go to Seefeld for the WSC. This is a bonus. I'm very satisfied with my performances this season, the hard work pays off now. This gives me additional motivation. It has always been a dream of mine to participate in World Championships", said a surprised but happy Thomas Aasen Markeng.
Besides the youngster, Johann Andre Forfang, Halvor Egner Granerud, Robert Johansson and Andreas Stjernen will compete in the World Championships. Andreas Stjernen got fit again just in time after he sustained a hip injury in his crash in Lahti. "It's getting better and better, I always started jumping again. Of course, I'm relieved now, it was close", said Stjernen.
Daniel Andre Tande, who also fell in Lahti, will miss the WSC due to knee problems. News: Daniel Andre Tande has to end the season
Despite some problems this winter, winning medals obviously remains the Alexander Stoeckl's goal for the competitions in Seefeld and Innsbruck: "We had a challenging season so far, but I think that the athletes made progress recently. What's still lacking is consistency. In some rounds, we see, that we are competitive, but this is not enough. Even though we will miss Daniel, we have a strong team. And Thomas Aasen Markeng has the chance to take part in such a big event for the first time. The World Championships will be exciting, we didn't give up on our goal which is to fight for the medals."
The Norwegian ladies team for Seefeld consists of Maren Lundby, Silje Opseth, Anna Odine Stroem and Ingebjoerg Saglien Braaten. Karoline Roestad and Pernille Kvernmo are fighting for the fifth place on the team in the COC in Brotterode.
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