“Horngacher thinks himself a god, but he is an idiot.” Not only is he guilty of the ski jumping war

it was the hottest topic before the Olympic competition of jumpers in Zhangjiakou. However, it is difficult to establish a list of those responsible for the confusion. The spiral of doubts, notifications and protests has swept in recent weeks to such an extent that it cannot be ruled out that a pure fight during competitions will be endangered.

Horngacher “came out of his role”. He did not play fully fair

The trainer of the German ski jumpers – a former coach of the Polish national team, certainly contributed to the outbreak of the equipment war. During the competition in Willingen, the Austrian raised protests about the equipment of Polish jumpers – but also, which turned out to be too wide after measuring. It is fully legal and understandable activities of the trainer from the point of view of the regulations. However, little is said about the fact that the Austrian has been abusing his role and putting pressure on FIS officials for a long time.

He did it for the first time in Ruce, last November. The competition in Finland was won by Slovene and Horngacher was very interested in the new bindings of the jumper produced by Peter Slatnar. Our source close to the FIS confirmed that the German staff put great pressure to disqualify Lanisk. Activists even called Slatnar and inquired about bindings. According to the Slovenian, the Germans were supposed to end the talks when they realized that the manufacturer knew about several possible illegal elements in their equipment.

The FIS controller at the World Cup competition, Mika Jukkar, did not give in to the pressure and did not throw Lanisk out of the competition results. But after their actions, he decided that he would take a closer look at Slatnar’s bindings. Ultimately, he forbade their use during the competition in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, although at the same time he allowed the Slovenes to replace them only after the competition in Bischofshofen a few days later. Slatnar points out, however, that he is still waiting for the document that allowed the Finn to do so. The Slovenian manufacturer is considering a lawsuit against the FIS after the Olympics.

For Horngacher, however, it was supposed to be only the beginning of a series of visits to Jukkara. According to our source, the Austrian reported various illegal pieces of equipment to rivals also in Engelberg (overalls), Bischofshofen (overalls and bindings) and finally in Willingen.

There, from talks with FIS activists, he moved to official protests against Polish boots and skis by Slatnar. In the latter case, he wanted to stop the competition and mass control of the skis after the first round. This was not allowed by the FIS. Horngacher didn’t look like a coach. He got out of his role. He is considered a god in this environment, and he is an idiot – says Sport.pl Slatnar. We hear from other teams that in the coaching nest he looks more important and charismatic than Sandro Pertile. As if he himself felt the director for a moment.

The confusion with Polish overalls lasted from the beginning of the season. Jukkara was influenced by the opinions of others

Many people also blame Adam Ma³ysz for starting the war. Ski jumping director in the Polish Ski Association. The German was later disqualified. However, Ma³ysz’s protest was a reaction to earlier events. – I do not want to criticize the controller very much, but let’s be clear: from the beginning of the season it is so that he checks us much more strictly than other staff – he tells us.

In Wisła, they were accused by Jukkara of possessing illegal overalls – it was about their inappropriate cuts. In Bischofshofen, according to our information, Horngacher, in an interview with Jukkara, had doubts about the new, colorful materials of the suits prepared by several staffs. Including Poles who put on a blue outfit.

Ma³ysz, we also ask about the difference between an official protest and suggesting something to the controller. – With an official protest, the jury meets and has to decide what to do. Sometimes things get worse with unofficial suggestions. For example: someone is throwing a slogan in front of decision makers, and they react or not. But they usually take action. People who are susceptible to suggestions always have a good answer, says Ma³ysz.

-. There is too much fabric on the back of the suit and that stitching appears farther to the front. The problem was that the controller himself decided that this was not true. He saw that it was not there, but he had to check anyway, because someone told him about it. It’s like it used to be. Here it works on a similar principle, because it is about suggesting someone else’s words, says Ma³ysz.

“He decides what can be.” FIS like Formula 1. In a very bad way

Ma³ysz also confirmed to us that in Beijing, Poles do not jump in improved Nagaba shoes, for which Piotr ¯y³ę and Stefan Hula were disqualified in Willingen. They took them to China, and after a few days even couples adjusted to a few FIS comments reached Beijing, but the white-and-reds will not risk disqualification. Although they still believe that the FIS regulations do not prohibit them from using the equipment.

– There is no specific rule that would explain exactly how these shoes are supposed to look. There are some outlines, but our change in the rules is not. It was found to be a new shoe model and should be submitted to the FIS according to the federation regulations. In our opinion, however, it is only a modification, because not the entire shoe is changed, but only its back. Other teams can change the entire sole in the shoes, the fastening system, and screw the carbon surface to them. It’s not fair. Of course, we could present these shoes to the FIS until May and maybe it was a mistake that we didn’t do it. But we didn’t have to do it, and besides, we would be depriving ourselves of the chance to surprise our rivals. It would not be new anymore. We took a certain risk and it happened, as it happened, Ma³ysz explains.

Here we come to the second culprit in the technological war. It’s about the FIS. A federation that does not use its own regulations on equipment and puts in the hands of Jukkara – the controller who worked for the first year in the post – with authority over the approval of new elements and the interpretation of imprecise rules.

– It’s badly constructed. Everything should be based on exact regulations, not interpreting them. The equipment inspector can make many decisions in this situation. I talked to the director of P¦, and he said that soon a special catalog would be created, in which the allowed solutions would appear, and any news would have to be reported to him by May. I replied that the catalog did not exist yet and asked how to interpret certain things that were yet to be found in it. And he was clear, “It’s the controller’s business, not yours. He decides what can.” And we know that Jukkara, because he is still a bit inexperienced, does not know all the recipes – says Adam Ma³ysz.

By putting all the tools for deciding on equipment in the hands of Jukkara, the FIS has made the room for maneuver for teams wishing to protest against new developments being the greatest in years. Before the Olympics, the federation always purged the leaders – it disqualified them in the last World Cup competition and threatened them with a finger. And during the most important professions of the four-year period, there may not have been complete peace, but still much greater than when one man decides about everything and, in addition, is susceptible to external influences.

“Maybe sometimes instead of ten steps forward, one has to take one backward?”

But really, with all the hardware confusion, everyone is to blame a little. Also national teams, which accelerated too much in the race for the best and most effective equipment. They took advantage of the weaknesses of the FIS and started to prepare many more solutions than in previous years, knowing that it would be easy to put pressure on them and seek their approval from activists.

The rivalry has become even dangerous, because more and more often solutions are introduced that may pose a threat to the health of players. . – Maybe instead of ten steps forward, one has to take one backward? – the trainer wondered during the conversation with us. – Just look at the beams in competitions. We often go down to numbers 1, 2 or 3. Why? Because the equipment often does not allow to start with much higher ones and the jury has a right to fear that it will not be able to react appropriately – he added.

On Sunday, the first individual competition in the fight for medals at the Olympics in. Will there be protests and fights also outside the hill? – I don’t think so. Something similar to that in Willingen would have to happen, and we do not see such movements yet, says Adam Ma³ysz. But the mere fact that such a topic exists should be a warning to the FIS and a sign that there is a need for major hardware changes.