Successful winter sports weekend in scorching heat at the Fichtelberg

OBERWIESENTHAL - For the second year in a row, not only the organizers but also the athletes and fans on the Fichtelberg were lucky with the weather: winter sports under 30°C heat and sun – made possible the Summer Grand Prix of Nordic Combined in Oberwiesenthal this weekend. Hosted together with the women’s Ski Jumping Continental Cup, the international event attracted guests from across Central Europe once again to Germany’s highest town: 11,500 spectators watched over the three competition days from Friday to Sunday the four events in total.

SKI JUMPING 

Women’s duo dominates ski jumpers

In the women’s Continental Cup, the winner on both days was Lucile Morat. The 15-year-old Frenchwoman from Courchevel won on Friday with 231.8 points, 10.2 points ahead of Katharina Althaus, and on Saturday increased her lead with a total of 238.8 points to 18.3 points. On Friday the Italian Lara Malsiner finished third; on Saturday Olympian Carina Vogt finally stood on the podium after she had finished fifth on Friday.

NORDIC COMBINED

Erzgebirge Express and Norwegians dominate

In the Nordic Combined competition, spectators on Saturday at the hill and on the Oberwiesenthal Market Square witnessed an Erzgebirge home game: thanks to the best team result in the jumping, Björn Kircheisen and Eric Frenzel went onto the course with a one-second lead as the first team. With a strong running performance they extended their lead to 18.8 seconds and secured victory in the team sprint ahead of the Norwegian duo Jan Schmid / Magnus Moan. Third place went to the Austrian pair Bernhard Gruber and Philipp Orter. Thousands of spectators had gathered at the Oberwiesenthal Market Square at 7 PM to cheer the athletes – the afterparty went on well into the night.

To finish the competitions on Sunday, Norwegian Jarl Magnus Riiber dominated the field at will. A great jump of 101 meters gave him a lead of over a minute over the competition, which he held to the finish. Behind him a strong battle for the places developed, which in the end Mario Seidl (AUT) won ahead of veteran Björn Kircheisen. For Eric Frenzel a 25th place in jumping was enough only for 14th place overall.

Professional event despite structural challenges 

There was much speculation in the run-up to the event: how would the host WSC Erzgebirge Oberwiesenthal cope with the infrastructural challenges? Specifically, the missing lift that had been torn down during modernization to continue hosting top-level events at the Fichtelberg. After three competition days, it is clear: there were no restrictions. With the support of strong partners and especially Automotive Center Erzgebirge from Schwarzenberg, which quickly provided the required shuttle buses, shuttle traffic at the hill could be run professionally. 

The hill itself was also ready for the major competition, rejoices WSC President Peter Riedel: “The thanks go not only to all our diligent volunteers and helpers but also to the city for the new, professional logistics. The city spared no effort to provide us with a jump-ready hill despite extensive construction.”

Praise from all sides

In addition to numerous journalists from print, radio, online and TV, many representatives from business and politics also visited Oberwiesenthal over the weekend, including State Secretary Stefan Brangs and district administrator Frank Vogel. “For us as those responsible and for our entire team, this backing from the media and decision-makers is an appreciation of the work here at the Fichtelberg,” says Peter Riedel. Praise also came from the International Ski Federation, which again impressed with the work in Oberwiesenthal and indicated it would like to continue relying on the Saxon location in the future. To promote the events even better in the future, a cooperation with FC Erzgebirge Aue is being considered. Already on August 12, WSC President Riedel promoted the Summer Grand Prix before 8,000 fans at the Wismut Stadium – a strong sign and a forward-looking cooperation in line with the WSC motto: “We for the Erzgebirge!”