Stefan Horngacher: First competitions as German head coach

Markus Eisenbichler, Richard Freitag, Stephan Leyhe, Karl Geiger, Martin Hamann, and Constantin Schmid were named to the German team for the FIS Grand Prix opener in Wisla this weekend.

The two events in Wisla on Saturday and Sunday are not only the first competitions this summer season, for Stefan Horngacher, they are also the first competitions as head coach of the German ski jumpers.

The Austrian is optimistic for the first appearance of his athletes: "We were able to carry out the training camps as planned during this training period. The athletes and the coaching staff became a good team. We are satisfied with the performances of the athletes on the hills.

Unfortunately, we had to cope with the ACL tear of Andreas Wellinger early June. This was very bad news for Andi personally and for the entire team. He was in a very good shape and compensating for his absence will be a big challenge.

Despite this setback, we are all motivated and are now looking forward to our first competitions together during the course of this Grand Prix. We want to implement our training performances and do as well as possible."

World Champion Markus Eisenbichler hopes to get valuable information about his current level of performance: "My jumps are quite stable and now it's time for the first international competitions. I'm excited to see if my shape is good and if I'm on the right track. I don't have any specific goals for the opener in Wisla. I will try to implement my training performances in the competitions."