Four Hills Tournament in Oberstdorf: Good Paschke, even better Austrians

Pius Paschke blew deeply and raised his fist into the Oberstdorf sky to the cheers of the world record crowd. The great German hope got off to a good start in the 73rd Four Hills Tournament and, after placing sixth in the first qualification, seems prepared for the hunt for the gold eagle. After a big qualifying party by the amazing Austrians, Paschke is not going into Sunday’s competition as the top favorite – five Austria Eagles were ahead on Saturday.

“I had a hard time getting into it here in training, but then I implemented it well, which was cool. “I’m absolutely satisfied and totally fit,” said Paschke. Before the first competition on Sunday (4:30 p.m./live ticker SZ.de), the 34-year-old is back on track. Because the serial winner of the first weeks of the season recently weakened at the dress rehearsal in Engelberg, national coach Stefan Horngacher was noticeably relieved: “That was absolutely important for Pius. He was already a little tense, now he knows it’s possible.”

In front of 16,500 fans at Schattenberg – more than ever before at a qualification – World Cup leader Paschke jumped to 139.0 m (154.9 points). Good, but not (yet) as outstanding as his five wins this season in the first eight competitions. Good, but also good enough to take on the brutally dominant Austrians? There is a big question mark behind it. “We were strong last year, but that cannot be put into words. Unbelievable,” said Daniel Tschofenig, who won the preliminary round ahead of four compatriots.

The 22-year-old won with 141.5 m (167.5 points) ahead of Stefan Kraft (164.8), the last tour winner from Austria in 2015, and Michael Hayböck (162.3). Jan Hörl and Maximilian Ortner also finished ahead of Paschke. Behind Paschke, the other DSV Adler showed some willingness to attack. Oberstdorf local hero Karl Geiger, who won on his home hill four years ago, impressed with ninth place. “I’m realistic, a top 10 result is very good for me at the moment,” said Geiger. Last year’s winner Andreas Wellinger still had some room for improvement in 13th place. “There are little things that are missing. “I’m confident and relaxed,” said the two-time Olympic champion.

Stephan Leyhe (33rd) and Philipp Raimund (39th), who had prevailed against former world champion Markus Eisenbichler in the fight for the remaining starting places in the German team, qualified poorly. Youngster Adrian Tittel (45th) will also be there on Sunday. Paschke should not only be there, but right in the middle and at best at the front. The veteran had rushed from victory to victory in the first weeks of the season and had never started better than any DSV Adler in a World Cup season.

Shortly before the tour, Paschke had a slight dip in performance

But just before the tour there was a slight kink: Paschke had a cold, and at the dress rehearsal in Engelberg he only managed tenth and 18th place. “Everything is fine again,” assured Paschke on Friday – but now others are making a better impression. Now it’s time for Paschke on Sunday to at least get out of a good starting position in order to keep all (win) options open for Garmisch-Partenkirchen (January 1st), Innsbruck (January 4th) and Bischofshofen (6th).