Shampooing for Women, Money for Men: Selina Freitag Criticizes Salary Inequalities

German ski jumper Selina Freitag has spoken out against the stark pay disparities between male and female competitors during the qualifications at Garmisch-Partenkirchen, a leg of the Two Nights Tour.

In what she described as an unjust situation, Freitag explained that while a victory in the men's qualification is rewarded with a cash bonus of 3,200 euros, her win only netted her a bag containing shower gel, shampoo, and four towels. She lamented, "They told me, 'Sorry, we didn’t have a 500-euro note available,'" highlighting the disparity.

The controversy arose after the qualifications at Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Germany, where Jan Hörl, the Austrian competitor, received nearly 3,200 euros. Freitag, who was part of the 2023 World Team Champion squad in ski jumping, used her interview on the German channel ARD to underline the seriousness of the gender wage gap in the sport.

Her coach, Heinz Kuttin, backed her criticism by stating that women also want to earn money, and it is time for a real step towards financial equity in the sport. However, Horst Hüttel, the sporting director of the German Ski Federation, tried to downplay the issue by noting that there is currently no cash prize allocated for the qualification round and suggesting that the alternative rewards are not optimal either.

This incident has sparked debate about the need for fairer compensation in ski jumping, especially for female athletes, as the sport continues to gain international attention.