Gregor Schlierenzauer continues his career

As the Austrian Ski Association (ÖSV) announced on Tuesday, Gregor Schlierenzauer will continue his career in Ski Jumping. After some difficult years recently, the 29-year-old will now receive the support of former German head coach Werner Schuster, with whom he already worked together as a young athlete at the school in Stams (AUT).

"Gregor Schlierenzauer is looking forward to continuing his way. We still have complete confidence in him and he will get all the support he needs from the association. Gregor's goal remains to return back to the top. In order to reach that goal, Gregor, who will continue to be fully included in the training process of the ÖSV, will also rely on the guidance of his former coach Werner Schuster, with whom he has a close, trusting relationship. Gregor will remain in close contact with head coach Andreas Felder and his staff", explains Mario Stecher, athletic director of the ÖSV.

"The sport of Ski Jumping still means a lot to me, even after the disappointing past years. So I'm very happy about the trust on the part of the ÖSV and I'm very grateful for the joint efforts. The role of Werner Schuster has been discussed with the association and the cooperation and communication are most important. Everything now comes full circle for me with the support of Werner - he was a key figure as a coach and we had and still have a great relationship", says Schlierenzauer.

The record World Cup winner, who ended last season already mid-February after not being named to the Austrian team for the World Championships in Seefeld and has the 12th place in Ruka in November 2018 as his best result in the past two winters, is well aware of the difficulty of the tasks ahead: "The way back will definitely not be easy, especially as Ski Jumping got even more sensitive and the depth of the field is great. I approach the challenge with lots of respect, confidence and high motivation."