Schmid Not in Top Ten Again at Kvandal Win

Katharina Schmid, one of the leading figures in ski jumping this winter, has once again fallen short of a top-ten finish. Competing at her home World Cup event in Willingen, Schmid, despite having clinched five victories in the first eight jumps of the season, ended up in an disappointing 11th place due to challenging wind conditions, with jumps measuring 115.0 and 131.5 meters.

The day was marked by a victory for Norway’s Eirin Maria Kvandal, while the best performing German, Agnes Reisch, came close to a podium finish with a fifth-place result after an impressive first-round jump of 142.0 meters – just about six meters shy of the podium. Schmid now trails Slovenia’s Nika Prevc in the overall standings with 872 points to Prevc’s 933. In a post-competition interview with ARD, Schmid admitted, "I’m not quite where I want to be," attributing her struggle to an overthinking phase that robbed her of the necessary lightness and confidence during her jumps.

This marks the third consecutive World Cup round in which Schmid failed to secure a top-ten finish, highlighting a continuing weakness in her performance at this stage of the season.