A Swiss teenager is amazed in Planica

Suddenly he is standing there, in the finish area of ​​Planica, and can hardly believe it himself. A few weeks ago, his world was still mediocre places in the Continental Cup, so at the second highest level in ski jumping. Now Remo Imhof is in the middle of the World Cup rush in Slovenia. Thousands make noise in the stands. Upside down for the 19-year-old talent who has never participated in a World Cup before.

The fact that he is in Planica at all is the craziest and at the same time most successful of his career so far thanks to a performance explosion last month. At the beginning of February, the Muotathaler jumped to eighth place at the Junior World Championships in Whistler (Ka) – surprisingly, he met the selection criteria for the Elite World Championships. A few days later he took second place in the Continental Cup in Klingenthal. From nothing to his best result on the tour. But the highlight is yet to come: in Planica, where he is one of five Swiss athletes who have traveled to the event, he initially triumphs in the team’s internal qualification, beating the more experienced Dominik Peter (21). Before that, he made the cut for the World Cup competition on the small hill in the qualifier on Friday as 50th.

The teen with the red, wavy curls amazes everyone in Planica. Also with his serenity that he shows. When asked if he surprised himself, he says: “My jumps are very strong at the moment. You could already notice that in training.” He could appear “completely free” in the valley of the hills, which is famous in the ski jumping scene. He says with a smile, “At most I have something to prove to myself.”

The carnival drummer dreams of the Four Hills Tournament

He can live with the fact that Saturday’s small hill wasn’t enough to qualify for the final round (35th place). His participation in the World Cup alone is ‘huge’ for the hobby drummer and fairground drummer.

Killian Peier also missed the second round (33rd). In return, 19th-placed Gregor Deschwanden and 28th-placed Simon Ammann hold the Swiss flag aloft. Pole Piotr Zyla will be world champion again after 2021.

And Imhof now hopes for an exploit on the big hill on Friday. For him, the World Cup means a huge step in his personal career planning. His biggest goal? The man from the Einsiedeln Ski Club, to which his (resigned) role model Andreas Schuler also belongs, wants to win the Four Hills Tournament one day. Not only is he cool and gentle, this Remo Imhof, but also quite ambitious.

Source : Blick