Back again!

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Shortly before Christmas and the upcoming Four Hills Tournament, it’s time to get back to you. The past few weeks have been very good from a sporting point of view and I am really happy to be back in the World Cup.

After I had secured my starting place in the World Cup through good performances in the Continental Cup in the summer, I was able to jump free from the beginning. Especially because my back is super stable and doesn’t show any complaints.

The winter season started for us traditionally with the Austrian Championships in Bischofshofen and Ramsau, then we went to Wisla/Poland, where we started the World Cup season for the first time with a so-called hybrid competition (start on ice, land on the mats).

Then we went to Ruka/Finland and there I could fix my first TOP 10 place this season. It was even better in Titisee-Neustadt: In the first competition I only just missed the podium as fourth, but as the best Austrian I was able to fix my starting place in the mixed team jumping the next day. Together with Eva Pinkeling, Sara Marita Kramer and Stefan Kraft we celebrated a great victory; I was really happy to finally be able to stand at the top of the podium in the World Cup again.

The following World Cup in Engelberg was a bit of a rollercoaster ride: In the first jump it didn’t go well at all and I didn’t manage to qualify for the second round. But I managed to stay calm, didn’t think too much about it and tried to be free in the second jump. I succeeded and with 7th place I was back where I wanted to be. This experience of getting “back on track” even after a bad jump was very valuable for me and balm on my soul.

Now, in the days before Christmas, we trained diligently and I defined our strategy for the Four Hills Tournament with my systemic coach Patrick Murnig. Now I enjoy the quiet holidays and look forward to Christmas with my family.

I hope to see you at the Tournament, this time there will be an audience in the stadiums at all stations again, that will be mega!

I wish you and your families a blessed Christmas, good health and a successful year 2023!

 

Yours Michi

My special winter is over

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The ski jumping season ended a few days ago and I have to say that, from my point of view, it comes a bit too early. I feel really good physically and would definitely be motivated to hang on a few more weeks, especially since it has been going quite well for me lately. 🙂

But until then it was also a lot of work. Since my disk surgery in October, a lot has happened: Recovery, start of training, first jumps on the hill, comeback at the Bergisel, Conti Cup and then came the Ski Flying World Championships in Vikersund.

The fact that I made it to the Ski Flying World Championships really made me happy and is also a confirmation of my way. Ski flying itself is a really cool feeling and I was also excited to be back on the road with the World Cup team. I’m really satisfied with my 7th place in the individual and I’m really happy for Krafti that he won the bronze medal. It was just a pity that we missed a medal with the team. That would have been another absolute highlight for me personally. Nevertheless, it was a good World Championships for me and I really like to think back.

I really enjoyed the final ski flying events in Oberstdorf and Planica. The weather was great, the fans created an incredible atmosphere and I was able to jump onto the podium with the team at the end. That was almost the perfect end to the season for me.

And when I look back on this journey, I can really say with confidence that all the hard work over the last few months has paid off, even if it wasn’t always easy. So I’m all the happier with my progress, but also a little sad that the season is over.

Nevertheless, I’m looking forward to spring and summer, because there are always some cool things coming up. But before that, I’m going skiing again to enjoy the last moments of winter. I can’t put the skis in the corner that fast ;).

I would also like to thank all of you who have supported me so energetically over the last few months and who have cheered along with me. Thanks also for the numerous messages, reading my blog and following my way since my surgery. That has always really pleased and motivated me.

See you soon and take care

Michi 🙂

Our plan was successful!

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First of all a happy new year to all of you! 🙂

My year has started really cool, I made great progress after my disk surgery and could even participate in the World Cup.

After my first jumps at the beginning of December, I was really happy that our plan had worked out and I was able to put almost full weight on my body. In the following days until Christmas, I trained very hard and at the same time made sure that I didn’t overdo it. A few days after Christmas came the first test: I traveled to Engelberg with the Continental Cup Team.

There, I made another step forward and was able to make very stable jumps. I even finished the competition on Sunday on the podium, it couldn’t have gone any better up to that point. Now I was already able to think a little bit in the direction of the Four Hills Tournament.

Shortly after the surgery I could not predict when and how I would be back on the hill, but only a little later my coach Patrick and I had a plan, and there the goal “Bergisel” was at the top of the list. When I really made it the Bergisel on the 3rd of January, I could hardly believe that we really managed to do the almost impossible.

THANK YOU to everyone who helped me along the way!

At the qualifier that day, I still didn’t have a good body feeling and just missed the competition as 51st. Unfortunately the Bergisel jumping had to be cancelled due to wind, but so I had the possibility to start again at the replacement competition in Bischofshofen.
On my home hill it went much better. After the passed qualification, I could fully attack and jumped into the top 10! The most beautiful 9th place of my career!
The relief and joy I felt that day are indescribable. It’s just nice that the work and patience paid off. And I now know that I can perform well again in the World Cup. The next day I felt that I still have to manage my strength, so I am very satisfied with 22nd place.

After that it was back to training and stabilizing. Among other things, I did some jumps together with my buddy Stefan Kraft in Ramsau. This weekend I will be back in the World Cup, in Zakopane I will try to take the next step. And if there is something new to report, I will of course get back to you. 🙂

See you then
Michi

Comeback loading…

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Hello everyone!

As you probably already noticed, I had to radically change my “plan” for the winter in the last weeks… But first of all the most important thing: I’m fine and I’m pain-free again! 🙂

Now I want to take my time to tell you more about what happened in the last weeks.

The topic “back” has been accompanying me for a while now, but with appropriate additional “attention” (training, physiotherapy, etc.), I had my back very well under control in the last years. At the Summer Grand Prix in Hinzenbach, however, the back pain came back. The problems became really acute before and during the Summer Grand Prix in Klingenthal, where they got worse every day and became almost unbearable in one or two days. In the end, I couldn’t even stand or lie down properly. After that, everything happened very quickly. I immediately consulted a doctor, where I was diagnosed with a disk herniation. Since I already had numbness in my left leg at this point, surgery was inevitable. In Innsbruck, I was operated by Dr. Gabl and fortunately the surgery went very well. After that, I was really relieved to finally have no more pain! 🙂

Afterwards I had to stay in the hospital for about a week before I could go home. But the time was shortened by some visits – including pizza from Krafti. 😉

All in all, the first three weeks meant a lot of lying down and resting for me, which already put my patience to a hard test. After all, the urge to move as a top athlete is very big! But now the next steps of the rehab continue. I am allowed to move more, walk along the river and start a more active therapy. Especially the physiotherapy is important now and also light trunk training is already possible again. However, I still have to be careful and take care of my back. But I am very happy that the rehab is going well and I am also looking forward to the coming weeks. The most important thing for me is simply to be free of pain and to work my way back step by step in consultation with Dr. Gabl.

At this point I would also like to thank you fans for the supportive words and the numerous recovery wishes! That made me very happy and is a great additional motivation! 🙂  And also a big thank you to Dr. Gabl and his team for the quick action and the good care in the hospital.

I will keep you updated

Michi

 

Injury and JumpandReach for friends

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Unfortunately the summer didn’t start as I expected it to. Instead of training and exercise I had to pause, because I injured myself during training. I tore my anterior syndesmosis ligament and also got a bone marrow edema. As a result, I was unable to exercise for some time and was only allowed to return to training slowly. That was of course very annoying and for the season preparation everything but ideal. Fortunately, it was a rather short matter in the end, which I overcame quite quickly and so far well. Certainly, I lost some training and had to realign my plans together with my coach Patrick. But I am in good spirits that I am now on a promising path.

Unfortunately, the injury has not only prevented me from training. I arrived a little later for the JumpandReach for friends in Seefeld because I couldn’t take part in the hike with the kids due to my injured foot. Nevertheless, it was again a unique experience to get together with the whole JumpandReach family after the season and celebrate the cool achievements. The community atmosphere, the relaxed mood and the friendly exchange are a fixed point every year that I look forward to very much. The joint dinner including the medal celebration with the entire JumpandReach family was once again an absolute highlight and the subsequent workshops and discussions were important and interesting.

As I said, I have been back in full training mode for a few weeks now. With every day the excitement for the new season is rising – hopefully with you fans at the hills again. 🙂

See you soon
Michi

Let’s go to Planica!

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After two weeks of quarantine, I’m still going to Planica! Fortunately, I was able to get the time at home almost well behind me and now I’m really looking forward to the World Championships and ski flying in the “ski flying Mecca” Planica. I didn’t feel really sick during my “house arrest” and now I also hope that I’m not lacking too much physically – but that will only show up over the days when I fly.

I feel fit so far and have now tested negative twice. But after 14 days at home, I obviously lack the training and, above all, the important competition rhythm. But I am glad that I was able to keep myself fit with the barbell, with one or the other exercise for the core and balance.

Yesterday I got a little bit of the jumping feeling on the hill in Ramsau and can travel to Slovenia with these jumps and one or the other constant jump from Wisla in my luggage.

I realize that the favorites will of course be different – you don’t have to be a psychic There are now some who already have a really good rhythm and sense of achievement. BUT I’m looking forward to opposing this with the Austrian team and making the best possible use of the less than ideal preparation. Any medal for our team would be amazing – “From the couch to the podium” – how cool that would sound. We will definitely fight.

In Planica I would like to try to gain consistency every day, build up tension and get back to the competition rhythm. In the past few years I have always succeeded in finding my way back to my system through ski flying and I could use that very well now.

When it comes to ski flying, I now have my personal “guru” with Krafti in my room and we will be by our side. Stick together day after day, then it will be …

I’m looking forward to ski flying. We will try to do the best we can for ourselves and also for Austria. We shall see what it will be enough for.

I’m already saying please, please keep your fingers crossed at home in front of the television.

All the best & stay healthy,

Michi.

“Hello” from the quarantine

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As you know, I have unfortunately also tested positive for Corona and would now like to let you know how I‘m doing at the moment.

Basically, since I got the positive result, I’ve never felt bad and I haven’t “felt really sick”. The only thing I have is a minimal cough, that’s all in terms of symptoms.

I noticed last weekend that I was very tired. But this is probably also due to the fact that a certain (competition) tension has already dropped and, to be honest, a bit of a depressing feeling has set in when you have to watch ski jumping on TV at home instead of being there yourself. Otherwise, as I said, I feel quite fit and I couldn’t say that I am feeling too bad.

I don’t have much choice now than to remain optimistic and see that I can remain fit and that I stay as strong as possible. Lots of warm tea, a few vitamins and the occasional visit to the infrared cabin are my “home remedies” 🙂

In addition, I make sure that I keep my flexibility high and that I do not break down physically with a little core training and one or the other exercise to stay “fit” – there is not much more that is possible at the moment.

At the end of this week, another corona test and then a sports medical examination will show whether I can resume my training rhythm and then get into competition – but I’m very confident in this regard. Now I’m trying to look ahead and, as far as possible, give everything to be completely healthy and ready for action again soon!

You will then hear from me again, read and hopefully see me on the hill again very VERY soon 😉

Bye for now,

Michi.

PS: Thank you very much for your numerous recovery wishes! 🙂 🙂

Let’s get the season started!

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A season that we have never experienced before. Not only because of Corona, but also because of all the highlights that are barely tearing off this season. Ski flying World Championship, Nordic World Championship, Four Hills Tournament … this winter has everything what it takes to become a ski jumping festival for us jumpers but also for our loyal fans.

It will not only be another, somewhat more difficult winter for us, but also for the fans – who create an atmosphere that we as athletes enjoy year after year and week after week in the World Cup. But none of that will be of any use this year, we have to go through it and we have to be happy when we get through as many competitions as possible.

The cohesion in the team, in the room with Krafti, trainer, Patrick etc. will be our most important building block this year and we all have to work well together so that we can get through the season well.

With Andi as head coach, we have a good group together, I’ve known Andi for a long time and over the summer the team has really found each other and we enjoy a good atmosphere in the team. I got through the summer well this year too, I feel good, the balance between training and everything is just right at the moment. The jumps are good, but not very good yet – I still have to work on that but also grow on it, I’m looking forward to it!

It is of course difficult or almost impossible to say where you stand at the moment (due to Corona), but almost everyone feels the same and the first competition of the season will be a kind of position determination for all of us.

For me it is important to start the season properly, to improve then and develop step by step and continuously – that is my stated goal. Of course, it would be cool to be at the front especially at the highlights, but everything has to fit together and it won’t be easy.

At the weekend it’s going to start in Wisla, then we might already know a little more where we’re going.

I’ll keep you posted, stay healthy

Michi.

Vacation at home, training course, 2 weddings and the Austrian championship

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So there was a lot going on for me in August and September. Even if not with the same division as in previous years, there was a lot to do in the “final” preparation for the 20/21 season. Of course, Corona and the associated measures were a constant companion, but at least in a few areas a certain “normality” returned, or should I better say we were “getting used to the circumstances”.

Due to these circumstances, there were of course no national and international competitions and comparisons with the ski jumping competition in this early autumn and meetings with the ski jumping family did not materialize. Away from the jumps, at least at two weddings, our ski jumping colleagues “Schiffi” and “Aigi” had the opportunity “to toast” a nice, new phase of their lives in a small group. In addition to the weddings, we also got together with the entire team more often – for example at the training course in Oberstdorf or at the Austrian championship in Eisenerz or in Bischofshofen. Apropos Austrian championships: With 6th place on the normal hill in Eisenerz and the silver medal on the large hill in Bischofshofen, I’m more than satisfied – after a long dry spell in terms of competitions, the jumps went quite well and I can feel good, looking back on these competitions and one of the few comparisons.

Aside from sport, a lot has happened for me and I used my “vacation at home” to move. I am now even closer to the training base in Rif, so I can travel to training by bike, and not far from there I have created my own four walls with my girlfriend Claudia. The construction phase and the move ultimately took a lot of time and effort, but I’m very happy with the result now.

For me or us, one or two advertising shoots and an Austria Cup in Stams are on the program, where we can again measure ourselves internally in a competitive atmosphere.

I’m looking forward to it and will definitely keep you up-to-date,

Take care,

Yours Michi.

Pure adrenaline rush at skydiving with HSV Red Bull Salzburg

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If you have the opportunity to go parachuting with the HSV Red Bull Salzburg at home in Salzburg with the JumpandReach troop in fantastic weather, you don’t say no. Anyone who knows me also knows that everything that has to do with air and flying is “my element” anyway and I can’t get enough of it – I would almost say that it has a certain addictive potential for me.

I’ve done a tandem jump like this before, but it was still an amazing experience. For many, flying up to the jump height is the “most uncomfortable” thing. As a pilot, I’m used to flying, so I like to take a look in the cockpit to see what’s going on there, and then really just enjoy the anticipation before the jump. Even if the pulse is of course a bit higher, it is almost pure anticipation when you dangle your legs out of the plane and then “dive down”. You never leave cold when you know that you are jumping out of a plane at an altitude of 4000 meters, but the experience is always unique.

I’ve been asked several times whether I can draw comparisons to ski jumping and I have to answer that more or less with “no”. The only thing I can think of as a similarity is that once you are in a stable position in free fall, you can immediately unbalance yourself with the smallest movements with your hands and feet, turn, etc. That is maybe a bit similar to ski jumping – that kind of “playing with the air”.

For me it was once again a tremendous experience that I will not forget anytime soon.

All the best in the meantime,

Your Michi.