It was 1998 when Simon Aman was allowed to compete in Nagano for the first time in the Olympics at the age of 16. It has been clear since Wednesday evening: Oman will still be fighting for the precious metal 24 years later at the age of 40 athletes.
More than that: Oman makes himself a record guy. Already his seventh Olympic qualification, ski-jumping star leaves dressage contestant Kristen Stockelberger (74) behind and is now the only major in the category. enormous.
Deschwanden is the best Swiss
It remains to be seen if the four-time Olympic champion will actually have a real chance of winning medals again. At the start of the Four Hills Championships in Oberstdorf, Togenberger finished thirteenth thanks to the jumps on 123 and 125 meters, and thus took the 20th place, which was still missing in the Olympic qualifying.
But Oman is not the best Swiss. Gregor Deschwanden (30) just made it into the top ten and thus achieved his best result of the season.
Pierre is already 23 meters behind the podium
On the other hand, another Swiss has to accept a slight disappointment: Kilian Pierre (26) finished only 14th, and after rupturing his cruciate ligament, he returned to the World Cup, was twice in fourth place in Engelberg. Vudois was so stable that he made his way into the wider circle of candidates with his performance prior to the Four Hills Championship.
However, at the start of the tour, he was only the third best Swiss. “I’m getting close to competition after competition,” Pierre told Blake before jumping in Oberstdorf. “Of course, the overall ranking is in the back of my mind, but I don’t see myself as a favourite at the moment.” That position could benefit him now, even if the podium deficit with opening winner Ryoyu Kobayashi and Norwegians Halvor Egner Granerud and Robert Johansson already hit 23 metres.
The next opportunity to jump ahead comes on New Year’s Day. Then the tour continues at Garmisch-Partenkirchen. (for example)
