Portrait of Gregor Schlierenzauer
The 25-year-old Austrian despite his still young age achieved almost all what the ski jumper can achieve. We still remember times when the young Austrian boy, who ended the prestigious Schigymnasium in Stams fought against the much older and experienced living legends of this sport.
Gregor Schlierenzauer gave his first jump at age 9. He debuted in the FIS international competitions in December 2004 and exactly one year later he took his very first victory. He found himself in the Austrian national team for the World Cup season 2005/2006 and since then he started to achieve a very good results.
The 2006 Junior World Championships in Kranj, Slovenia was the first important, international event in the career of Gregor Schlierenzauer. He became the double Junior World Champion - individually and with the Austrian team.
He debutet in the World Cup on March, 12 2006 in Oslo and get his very first World Cup points by being ranked 24th. But the next season showed everyone the potential and talent of the young Austrian. Everything started in December 2006, when he achieved his first World Cup victory. Then came the 55th Four Hills Tournament in which he finished second, just behind Anders Jacobsen. At the World Championships in Sapporo he individually finished twice in the Top 10 (8th on the normal hill, 10th on the large hill) and secured the gold medal together with the Austrian team. This season began the huge successes of Schlierenzauer.
In the season 2007/2008 Schlierenzauer got the opportunity to jump for the first time on the ski flying hill. And he fully used it. During the World Championships in ski flying he won two gold medals - individual and with team. That was his first that important individual triumph in his career. The 56th Four Hills Tournament was less successful for him - he managed to finish 12th, but in the general classification of the World Cup he was ranked 2nd. But the best had to come.
In the season 2008/2009 Gregor Schlierenzauer won for the first time the overall World Cup and achieved silver individual and gold in team medal at the World Championships in Liberec. He broke Janne Ahonen's record of 12 season victories with 13 victories, and also tied Ahonen, Matti Hautamäki and Thomas Morgenstern's record of six consecutive victories in the World Cup. In the 57th Four Hills Tournament he ranked 3rd. In the next season he got the opportunity to take part in the Olympic Games and was considered as the favorite to get the medal in Vancouver 2010. He didn't disappoint and twice won the bronze medal individually on the large and normal hill and also the gold medal with the team. During the World Championships in ski flying he didn't manage to secure his title and individually finished second, but he won gold in team. In the overall World Cup he also finished second and during the 58th Four Hills Tournament he placed on the 4th position.
The season 2010/2011 was less successful as the previous ones. In the overall World Cup he finished 9th, due to knee injury he missed the first two competitions of the 59th Four Hills Tournament and eventually finished 36th. But the World Championships 2011 in Oslo once again were very good for him. He finished 8th in the normal hill competition, but became the team World Champion on the same hill. On the large hill he won everything what was to win - gold individual and gold in team.
In the 2011/2012 season he won 5 World Cup competition and finished 2nd overall, just behind Norway's Anders Bardal. He won the 60th Four Hills Tournament. On 26 January 2013, Schlierenzauer equaled Matti Nykänen's long standing record of 46 World Cup ski jumping victories, and currently has 53 victories on his account. He also won the overall World Cup in this season.
But then something broke. The last two seasons were not that good for Gregor Schlierenzauer. He suddenly stopped to win. Considered as the most talented and the most important part of the Austrian team Schlierenzauer for few years was the true winning machine. But then came the conflicts and arguments between Schlierenzauer and the former head coach of the Austrian national team Alexander Pointner. The atmosphere was getting worse and worse, and the "golden boy" went to the shadow and in the overall 2013/2014 World Cup managed to rank only on the 6th position.
Since the beginning of the current season it seemed that even the change of the head coach of the national team didn’t give anything. Schlierenzauer won once in Lillehammer, but overall the current winter season is weak for him. He needed the proof that he still has the shape and can place on good positions. That proof came on Thursday when Schlierenzauer, quite surprisingly, won the individual silver medal. For him that silver medal definitely tastes like gold. After the long break the talented Austrian seems to be back on the right track.
By Anna Sobol
