February 2002 - Nr. 2
Olympic Focus
German Ski Jumper Makes Sports History
TWIG - Sven Hannawald, the 27-year-old German ski jumper, made sports history Sunday (January 6) by winning all four events at this year’s Four Hills ski jumping tournament - an unprecedented achievement in the sport.
Hannawald landed the fourth trophy in Bischofshofen, Austria, shattering his personal record with a jump of 139 meters and an outstanding 131.5 meters on his second jump.
The Four Hills Tournament was begun 50 years ago by German and Austrian athletes shut out of international competitions after the second world war. Held each year at four sites over a two-week period, it has since developed into a premiere international ski-jumping event. Among "eagles," as ski jumpers are called in German, to capture the Four Hills title is a triumph savoured every bit as much as a World Championship or Olympic gold. The first two tournament events were held in Oberstdorf and Garmisch-Partenkirchen in southern Germany. On Friday, the action moved to Innsbruck and on Sunday to Bischofshofen, both in Austria. With each hill Hannawald conquered came added pressures and expectations. In the past, seven skiers had made it to Bischofshofen having won, like Hannawald, the three previous events in the tournament. But none had ever gone on to take the trophy for the final hill. By the time Hannawald reached the last jump, it seemed only the pressure of soaring expectations could stop his phenomenal ride.
On Sunday afternoon, 35,000 spectators, roughly half from Germany, cheered on Hannawald as he flew past rivals Matti Hautamaeki of Finland and hometown favourite Martin Hoellwarth to take the "Grand Slam" with a record score. The jubilation revealed what a relief this victory was for Hannawald, his coaches and the entire German team - everyone embraced everyone else, with Hannawald’s sister and his parents in their midst. The German national team coach, Reinhard Hess, was first to hug the winner, then bowed to him. "I had no time to ponder the possibility that I might write sporting history," Hannawald said. "The events distracted me from that. I was only too happy for another day to be over. That’s how edgy my nerves were the whole time," he confessed.
Hannawald was born in Erlabrunn in the former GDR. After German reunification, he and his parents moved to the West and settled near Ulm. Hannawald studied and trained at the Furtwangen ski boarding school, then completed an apprenticeship as a communications electronics specialist. Afterwards, he moved to Hinterzarten in the Black Forest, where he currently lives and trains. In 1997, he won his first Four Hills event, but suffered a setback in the Nagano Olympic games one year later. Putting this behind him, he went on to become the first German to win the World Cup in ski jumping.
Hannawald’s team-mate and four-time world champion Martin Schmitt proved that he is determined to stay hard on Hannawald’s heels. He came in fifth with jumps of 130 meters and 124.5 meters in Bischofshofen and, after a poor start to the tournament, seventh in the overall ratings. Newcomer Stephan Hocke from Oberhof finished tenth. Schmitt, a darling of the German media at the start of the season, praised Hannawald, saying he "jumps in a league of his own." Hannawald and Schmitt will represent Germany in the ski-jumping competitions at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City next month.
