Ski Jumping in times of Covid: A success story

The 2020/21 Ski Jumping season is history. Back when the season started, nobody knew how it will go due to the many restrictions concerning Covid-19, when it ended it became clear: It was a success story.

At the beginning of the season, various athletes and coaches tested positive for Covid. In Wisla (POL), then in Ruka (FIN), and then there was the weekend in Nizhny Tagil (RUS), where some athletes had tested positive in the tests on-site.
After that, there were fewer and fewer positive tests, towards the end of the season there was only one case, and that was overall World Cup leader Halvor Egner Granerud of Norway, who tested positive during the WSC. That was the last one.

On the one hand, this means that the system of the bubbles, implemented by the FIS and the local organizers, worked, on the other hand, it's also clear that everyone involved acted responsibly and learned from the experiences gained earlier on, a big success.

Except for the RAW AIR, all the competitions could take place, without spectators, but on a high level. A winter without spectators is annoying, but it's not a problem. But one winter without the fans at the hills is enough, now the fans want to return to the stadiums and the athletes want to jump in front of enthusiastic crowds again.

From a sporting point of view, the winter was on a top-level. We took a quick look at the Top 6 teams:

Austria - worst season ever
The best Austrian in last winter's overall World Cup was Daniel Huber in 12th. This is the worst result for Austrians in history. The season started badly for Austria with the positive Covid tests in Wisla (POL) and Nizhny Tagil (RUS) and due to an infection, Stefan Kraft was sidelined and that weakened the team considerably. The Austrian ski jumpers are stronger than the result lists showed and over the last couple of years it was mainly only Kraft who was among the best in the overall World Cup, and if he can't compete, the team simply lacks top results. The Austrians can take positive energy out of the World Championship title of Stefan Kraft and the two team wins in Wisla and Zakopane.

Norway - an outstanding team, Granerud shines
Besides serial winner Halvor Egner Granerud, the victories of Marius Lindvik and Robert Johansson and the team in Lahti (FIN) provided for a clear win of the Norwegians in the Nations Cup. Head coach Alex Stoeckl has already reckoned with Granerud before the season: "Granerud is our best", he said in early November. But maybe even Stoeckl would not have expected that he would do that well against the international competition.

Germany - highs and lows
There were many ups and downs for the German team. Two wins in Wisla and Ruka for Markus Eisenbichler early in the season, then a bit of a low in Russia, a surprising title for Karl Geiger at the Ski Flying World Championships in Planica, and then Geiger's positive Covid-19 test before the 4-Hills-Tournament. Ski Flying World Champion Karl Geiger and his teammates fought hard during the winter until the WSC in Oberstdorf. Only Markus Eisenbichler kept performing on a high level, but it was not enough to win and so the expectations before the World Championships were not that high. But the team showed great performances in Oberstdorf: Individual silver and bronze for Geiger, gold for the men's team, and the mixed team. Then Geiger won two individual competitions in Planica and the Ski Flying World Cup.

Poland - Stoch, Kubacki, Zyla, and Stekala
A win of the 4-Hills-Tournament, World Champion on the normal hill, third, seventh, and eighth in the overall World Cup, second in the Nations Cup. It was a great winter for the Polish team. Kamil Stoch took his third overall win of the 4-Hills-Tournament, then the unforgettable success of Piotr Zyla at the World Championships in Oberstdorf, Dawid Kubacki won the New Year's competition in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and finished eighth in the overall World Cup. Rising star Andrzej Stekala completed the strong result of the team of head coach Michal Dolezal in 16th of the overall World Cup.

Japan - Kobayashi still knows how to do it
Towards the end of the season, Ryoyu Kobayashi showed what he is capable of. With his wins in Zakopane, Rasnov, and Planica, the 2018/19 World Cup champion proved that he is the one to beat when everything goes well for him. The two Satos (Keiichi and Yukiya - they are not related) proved their potential again and again during the course of the winter, but they were not able to perform on a high level consistently, like Naoki Nakamura. The Japanese have a strong team, one shall not forget that they, just like the US Americans and Canadians, were not able to leave Europe during the entire winter and could not return home like all the other teams.

Slovenia - Lanisek, Pavlovcic, and 3 x Prevc
After bad results and a social media post of Timi Zajc, there was a big bang in the Slovenian team during the Ski Flying World Championships at home in Planica. Head coach Gorazd Bertoncelj was history and his assistant Robert Hrogta took over. During the rest of the winter, the Slovenes presented themselves in good shape. Especially Anze Lanisek and youngster Bor Pavlovcic showed many convincing performances. With the three Prevc brothers in top shape - all of them were not able to show what they are capable of consistently last winter - the Slovenes have a top team.