Athlete of the Week: Mario Seidl (AUT)

PyeongChang and Mario Seidl - the past weekend can be termed nothing else than the beginning of a budding romance. Seidl, the young rising Austrian athlete and PyeongChang’s Alpensia HS 140 hill connected instantly and stayed true to each other: each jumping round at the future Olympic venue had Seidl on the top.

„The hill feels like it was made to measure for me. I was able to enjoy every single jump“, Seidl gushed after a weekend, which can also be considered something of a breakthrough for him. After numerous podium results in the last two Summer Grand Prix, the 24-year-old was still waiting for his World Cup debut on the three steps but kept missing out narrowly: three fourth ranks, two fifth, one sixth and one seventh position were his track record in the individual events in this season.

No more in PyeongChang. With one second and one third place, Seidl shattered the glass ceiling keeping him from the very top and brought his name into position, not only for the upcoming World Championships in Lahti but also for the Olympic Games next year. A hill that fits you like a glove certainly does not hurt when it comes to future prospects for PyeongChang 2018.

Seidl has now travelled back to Europe to start a last training and preparation phase before the World Championships in Lahti. If he will be able to challenge the ever-dominating German team remains to be seen. But this weekend and the membership in the Nordic Combined podium club will stay with him forever.