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SKI

German soars into ski jump top spot

Germany is a "Weltmeister" again, this time in ski-jumping. Severin Freund's 134-metre vertical jumps, and new world distance record of nearly 136 metres, ended the nearly decade-and-a-half wait for German ski jump fans starved for gold.

Published: 27 February 2015 10:04 CET
German soars into ski jump top spot
Photo: DPA

“That was an amazingly wicked competition, everything went into it. It was brutally fun,” Freund said on Thursday.

The 26-year-old managed to beat Austrian Gregor Schlierenzauer and Norwegian Rune Velta at the Nordic skiing World Championships in Falun, Sweden on Thursday.

Fellow German Johannes Rydzek grabbed the bronze for individual Nordic combined on Thursday, after earlier winning two gold medals for group Nordic combined, and the individual normal hill competition last week.

Gold went to Austria's Bernhard Gruber, followed by France's Francois Braud.

“It's all like a dream, what's happening here,” said Rydzek, known for wearing a Superman jersey under his competition gear.

It was a big moment as well for national trainer Werner Schuster.

“This is a moving moment. He has my heartfelt congratulations. I never dreamed I would get to celebrate a world champion.

“He flew like a plane. He put up a fantastic fight, stayed in the offensive, and was rewarded with gold,” Schuster said.

Freund, however, countered that he flew like a plane “twice”.

 

 

 

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SPORTS

German football fans get green light to return to stadiums next season

Bundesliga clubs and other German sports venues will be allowed to welcome up to 25,000 spectators from next month, the city of Berlin said Tuesday after a meeting of officials from Germany's 16 states.

Published: 6 July 2021 17:45 CEST
German football fans get green light to return to stadiums next season
Germany fans at the recent Euro 2020 match in London. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Christian Charisius

Most matches in Germany’s top football league were played behind closed doors last season – so-called Geisterspiele or ghost games – because of the Covid-19 virus.

The new Bundesliga season starts on August 13th and with infection rates having fallen sharply, sports stadiums could be at 50 percent capacity, with the total number per match or event capped at 25,000.

The only exception is reigning Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich, where up to 20,000 fans will be allowed into home games at the 75,000-capacity Allianz Arena because officials in Bavaria are allowing only 35 percent of capacity.

The new rules apply until September 11 and amid concerns in Germany about the Delta variant of the coronavirus, incidence rates must not exceed 35 new infections per 100,000 people over the previous seven days.

READ ALSO: German states call for uniform Covid rules at big events

If that happens, and “the infection cannot be clearly contained”, a maximum of 5,000 spectators will be allowed into sports events, German officials warned.

Only fans who can prove they are vaccinated or present a negative test will be allowed into stadiums and hygiene rules must be followed.

An easing of the regulations meant crowds of around 14,000 were allowed to attend Euro 2020 matches at Munich’s Allianz Arena over the last three weeks, but fans were largely kept out of German league games last season.

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