Lukas Müller

2009/2010 has passed. It has been a season with ups and downs. I would like to give you an overview on what has happened since May 09.

Eventually, after a long break in April we were on the way to the training session in Ramsau, where we would also experience different sports like rock climbing. In addition, we had a mental training session held by Christoph Ebner on a daily basis. A new team member joined my group. He participated in the ski flying work championships in Planica today – David Zauner. My initial thought was that there couldn’t be any better start of the new season – and then, the first accident happened: (the first of three times) I twisted my right ankle, fell on the back of my head and even was unconscious for a short time. I was sent to the hospital and had to limit my training during the following 2 weeks.

In July the COC-season started. The results of the Slovenia-tour – Velenie and Kranj – were moderate, but in Villach I succeeded with a hill record and a 2nd and 3rd place. Two weeks later, I qualified for the summer grand prix in Bischofshofen, in which I scored 2nd behind David.

The summer grand prix was something special for me. I was on tour with the national team on the prestigious tour bus for a full week, and gained new experiences. These included the impact of the wind rule, my first team competition in Hinterzarten, my first world cup score in the Top 6 in Pragelato, but also not qualifying for the final round in Einsiedeln. However, already the next competition in Zakopane showed that this even strengthened my skills – I won the qualification round! It was a great summer, not only in sports.

Hinterzarten also closed a loop which was beneficial for another person as well. Since I have been in a relationship with Melli, at least one of us was successful. This is how one of the most important and successful relationships in ski jumping started. I participated in the summer grand prix and she ranked 3rd place in the score of the summer COC.

Due to my successful summer I was also invited to attend the season’s preparations in Egypt and Lillehammer. It was at the latter where I got the first real setback of the season. During the 2nd jump the inrun was a little bit too long and there was too much wind – I landed at 145m and crashed after landing on a bump. I hurt my shoulder and hips. 2 days later I jumped again but I couldn’t qualify for Kuusamo. On the plus side: I was sent to Rovaniemi and Vikersund. There, I had the best week of the whole season. Melli was with me; I won 2 COCs at 2 amazing jumping hills, and qualified for the 4-hills-tournament which I could not have made without her support. :-*

In Oberstdorf I achieved my national team top result by scoring 6th in the competition. Although I reached “only” 34th rank in Innsbruck (very frustrating), I scored 19th after Bischofshofen in the 4-hills-tournament. I also was one of few who were allowed to participate in the ski flying event on the Kulm below the age of 18. Naturally, I wanted to draw all attention towards me – I succeeded in that with a spectacular crash in the qualification at 179 meters. This jump could have gone 200m and above. But there’ll be more ski flying in future – so far, my personal best is at 186m.

After the ski flying I probably made the biggest mistake in the entire season. Just before the Junior World Championship I changed my shoes. This resulted in such a distraction that I scored only 16th at the single competition. Though I made Junior World Champion in the team again, I realized that I missed a chance. This was the only competition weekend in which both Melli and I were not successful (not taking the Team world champion title into account)

During the last two months my jumps were improving gradually, but I still had a difficult path to go. In the meanwhile Melli continuously improved as well which also helped me. It wasn’t easy – at Holmenkollen I didn’t even achieve the final run of the top 30, but gained new hope the next day by winning the trial run. However, the competition was not more than just another step in the right direction, but Melli finalized her season in Zakopane with the overall 5th place in women’s ski jumping worldwide.

Although I couldn’t match her results, the last COC on the mini-flying hill in Kuusamo was very important for me – sort of the best season finale which I could have had. I finished 8th and 7th. Although I lost the 6th rank in the COC, I demonstrated my skills during the good training and Sunday’s trail run when jumping to 144 meters (video follows [hopefully]). Probably the best foundation for the summer – we’ll see.

Yesterday I was asked about my objectives for the next season. There are actually only 2 things that come to my mind: In sports, I want to fly over 200m once. In personal, I want to learn to omit my thoughts in certain situations. To quote my youth trainer Peter Berger:

‘Jumping with an empty mind is still the best’

… and he’s right.

I hope you enjoyed reading my stories. Now, a period will follow in which I won’t publish much on my homepage. Still it’s worthwhile to visit my page – you’ll never know whether I find something from the winter to put online, maybe pictures or videos from competitions.

See you next time,
Luki