Wellinger wins silver in ski jumping thriller at World Championships

Wellinger wins silver in ski jumping thriller at World Championships

• Originally Published: March 02, 2025, 18:52 CET.

A massive cheer erupted in the German ski jumping team: after several challenging months, the DSV jumpers have springboarded out of crisis at the Nordic Ski Championships in Norway. Andreas Wellinger and Karl Geiger excited fans on Sunday (March 02, 2025) during the individual competition from the normal hill.

Amidst headlines like "Crash", "next disappointment", and "Drama" reflecting the pain of recent weeks for the German ski jumpers, it was heartening to see the DSV flyers make a comeback at their season highlight.

Andreas Wellinger secured silver in the first individual event of the World Championships in Trondheim. Although Geiger placed fourth, he also showcased top performances in an exhilarating ski jumping thriller, relieving Bundestrainer Stefan Horngacher, who had faced sharp criticism recently. The new world champion is Norway's Marius Lindvik, with bronze going to Jan Hörl.

"The guys did a great job. We have put in a lot of effort in the past weeks. Winning a medal makes many things much easier," Horngacher breathed a sigh of relief at ZDF. Geiger expressed his pride on an impressive performance, but was devastated to finish just shy of the medals. "It’s also difficult to take after eight weeks of struggles. I came here and performed right from the first jump. I won the silver and not the gold lost. What I set out to achieve worked out," stated the silver hero Wellinger.

Neck-and-neck race for first place

The competition was gripping, with seven jumpers within ten points heading into the final round. Wellinger (2nd) and Geiger (5th) were among them. Wellinger scored a near-perfect jump of 106.5 meters in the first round, despite lacking wind support down the hill. Geiger managed 105.5 meters.

Among the medal contenders were two Norwegians, two Austrians, and one Japanese competitor. Marius Lindvik set a new hill record of 108 meters and was on track for gold, while Jan Hörl (3rd place/107 m), Johann André Forfang (4th place/107 m), Stefan Kraft (6th place/106 m), and Ryoyu Kobayashi (7th place/104 m) also sought to claim medals.

Geiger narrowly missed out on bronze

Kobayashi had to go first out of the remaining medal contenders in the final, quickly realizing that 103.5 meters wouldn't be enough. Kraft (101 m), who went immediately after, took the lead over the Japanese. But that lead was short-lived: Geiger jumped to first place with 102 meters, only for Forfang to fail to find his footing with just 100.5 meters. Hörl threw in a 102 meters that secured him a medal, but it was still uncertain which medal.

Wellinger and Lindvik were next; both leapt an identical distance of 104.5 meters, but Lindvik benefited from a pre-existing lead and celebrated his gold medal.

Wellinger’s podium finish had been foretold in training and the Qualification rounds. The 29-year-old, who is fond of jumping from small hills, was consistently among the top performers. Suddenly, everything clicked during the jumps. The tension and self-doubt that had previously plagued the German were blown away. The form rescued Wellinger - who had previously won silver from the normal hill at the 2023 World Championships - into the competition.

Geiger's sharp jump puts him in the running

Geiger also smiled for the first time in weeks. Known for his exceptional jump powers, "Kleinschanzen-Karle" did everything right at the take-off platform, riding the updraft to an impressive 105.5 meters, placing him in the leading group after the first jump. Being in fifth place with a mere 1.3 points deficit to the bronze medal, the competition was tightly contested. Finally, Geiger's final 102 meters just barely missed the podium by three points.

"I can still see it, especially because fourth place at the World Championships is bitter. This competition showed how close it is," Geiger explained, feeling satisfied overall.

Raimund falls short

Philipp Raimund, after an upbeat training session, was brimming with anticipation and believed he could clinch a podium spot with two perfect jumps. The dream of a medal evaporated fast during the first round where 99 meters were too underwhelming for someone who wanted the extraordinary. The 24-year-old Oberstdorf jumper was in 20th position at halftime, citing, "I was way too late off the take-off, and then all my strength wasn’t enough."

In a more punctual second round, Raimund once again managed only 99 meters. "In training, I was always in the top ten, so my potential was there," said Raimund, who couldn’t fully enjoy finishing in 15th place.

Pius Paschke stumbles into finals

Pius Paschke, by now a flying sensation this season, just scraped through to the second round with 96.5 meters in 30th place. He faltered with 89 meters under challenging conditions during the second jump. "This result is unfortunately ungratifying," said Paschke, who has been battling a cold, on ZDF.

Ammann makes his 13th World Championship appearance

Oldie Simon Ammann missed qualifying for the danger on his 13th World Championship appearance this season. The 43-year-old returned to the spotlight after being away for a while, having prevailed in Swiss qualification but crashing with 92.5 meters to miss the finals clearly. Despite this, he had reasons to cheer: Ammann made it into the record books for the remarkable stat of 13 starts at the World Championships, matched only by Japan's Noriaki Kasai.

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