Morgenstern expects hotly contested worlds

Austrian ski jumping legend Thomas Morgenstern said Monday that it’s “really difficult to say who is favorite” for gold at the 2021 Nordic World Ski Championships and the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.

The Nordic worlds began on Monday in Oberstdorf, Germany, and Morgenstern said: “I see many candidates (for gold). On the large hill, it may be (Halvor Egner) Granerud (of Norway) who will win, but on the normal hill, Poland’s Dawid Kubacki has a great chance.

“He stood on the highest podium in 2009 so from my point of view he is a favorite to win again. Poland’s Kamil Stoch can also fight against Granerud for the titles.”

Morgenstern knows what it takes to become Olympic champion, having won two titles at the 2006 Turin Games, as well as team gold in 2010 in Vancouver. He also claimed largehill silver in Sochi four years later.

“From my perspective the most important thing is self-confidence,” the 34-year-old added. “When you beat rivals, you feel better and better. The more you compete at the highest level, the better you jump.

“Of course, there are also many factors which can be decisive, but for me, self-confidence was really important.”