Ahead of season opener, ski jumping coach doubts Austria’s chances

German women’s ski jumping head coach Heinz Kuttin is beginning his second season in charge and faces immediate travel to Norway, where the World Cup opens in Lillehammer on Friday, followed by events in Falun and Wisła. He notes the calendar changes this year: no traditional four-woman team event for the women, with the World Cup aligning to the Olympic program that features a mixed team event on the normal hill and a men’s Super Team event on the large hill.

Kuttin reflects on Germany’s strong 2024–25 campaign in which Selina Freitag (2nd) and Katharina Schmid (3rd) finished on the overall World Cup podium behind Nika Prevc, and Germany won the Nations Cup. The goal for this season remains to defend the Nations Cup, with Slovenia, Norway and Japan expected to be main rivals.

Assessing Austria, Kuttin is pessimistic. After the retirement of Jacqueline Seifriedsberger and the injury to Eva Pinkelnig, he believes Austria’s women’s team has been hit hard, which he says is unfortunate for the sport overall.

One Austrian who hopes to seize the moment is Carinthian jumper Hannah Wiegele. Lillehammer is the World Cup venue where she has jumped most often, with a best result of 22nd. Having focused in the summer on power and overall endurance, she feels fitter than ever and aims to score points this weekend with two solid competition jumps. Wiegele’s long-term goal is to qualify for the Olympic Games—held close to her home—and she is also looking forward to the two home events in Villach in early January.