She really is a true world champion – and since Saturday even a double one at these title fights in the Slovenian valley of the hills. The pressure on Katharina Althaus as the last jumper was great in such a way that she could not jump from the Bakken of the small hill as planned. The individual world champion had to wait five minutes due to gusty winds before she was sent into the inrun lane by the jury.

Ralf Weitbrecht

Sports editor.

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In the arena, the music became louder, the famous "Planica, Planica" sounded from the loudspeakers – and Selina Freitag, Anna Rupprecht and Luisa Görlich had already gathered in the outlet to be very close to their teammate at the moment of greatest emotions.

The lead of 17.4 points was large, very large even, and the certainty that Katharina Althaus only had to bring her jump down cleanly ensured relative serenity in the team of German ski jumpers, which can now feel world champion again. In the end, the German quartet was 12.7 points ahead of the Austrians, followed by Norway.

Connoisseurs of the scene had expected that this trio would make up the fight for gold, silver and bronze among themselves. And after the German jumpers had already performed strongly in the individual competition on Thursday, there was much to be said for a coup of the squad of national coach Maximilian Mechler. After the success, he was "happy, but finished". He was proud anyway, because his ski jumping women were in a class of their own on this Saturday, when finally more spectators had come to the World Cup arena.

For example, it's good to have a stable jumper like Anna Rupprecht, who previously finished ninth in singles, in your ranks. She showed a strong performance with two jumps on 92.5 and 99 meters. It was a clever move that Coach Mechler was the first to send them over the Bakken, because Team Germany immediately took the lead. When Katharina Althaus had the privilege of being the last jumper ever to secure gold for the champions of the inaugural competition of 2019, "she put it down great", as Anna Rupprecht said beaming with joy. "We kept our nerve."

And Katharina Althaus, who jumped 97 and 94.5 meters, has already courageously seized the opportunity to add another plaque to her already famous collection of titles. The team gold is historic for the 26-year-old from the Allgäu, because with six World Championship titles she is now the most successful ski jumper at the Nordic World Ski Championships.

"Gold inspires", said Katharina Althaus, after she was dancing with her teammates in the hill run, alluding to her victory in the singles. Two gold medals in the magical valley of Planica – that doesn't have to be the end of all her dreams. This Sunday, Katharina Althaus will pursue her flying work in the mixed team on the hill.

Promising because the men can also tackle the competition with tailwind: Andreas Wellinger won the silver medal in individual jumping on Saturday evening. Karl Geiger won bronze. The two only had to admit defeat to the Polish Piotr Zyla.

Mixed team competitions are not only for the ski jumpers at this World Championships. The combined athletes will also start mixed on Sunday. They were also successful on Saturday. Julian Schmid won silver in his first World Championship participation – a few hours ahead of ski jumper Wellinger. Only the Norwegian Jarl Magnus Riiber jumped further than Schmid and finished first in the subsequent ten-kilometer run.

Schmid's medal is the second of the combined athletes. On Friday, Nathalie Armbruster also won silver. The combined athletes Schmid and Armbruster, the ski jumpers, Wellinger and Geiger: they all experience their moments of greatest emotions in Planica.