Austrian team for Seefeld without Gregor Schlierenzauer

Gregor Schlierenzauer could not earn his spot on the Austrian team for the Nordic Ski World Championships on home soil in Seefeld with his performances in the World Cup recently.

"The message to Schlierenzauer was very clear before Lahti and Willingen: He has to show good performances. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to perform as well as we expected, with the exception of the team competition in Lahti. That's why we named the young athlete, Jan Hoerl, to the team instead", the Athletic Director for Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined in the Austrian Ski Association, Mario Stecher, explained this decision.

The record World Cup winner returned to the World Cup for the events in Lahti after a long break. There Schlierenzauer was 30th in the individual competition and also a member of the winning Austrian team. In Willingen last weekend he was only 42 on Saturday and on Sunday the Tyrolean was disqualified before his first jump.

Despite the disappointment about missing the Championships in Seefeld, Gregor Schlierenzauer is currently not thinking about ending his successful career. "We did everything we could. Unfortunately, I'm not close enough to reaching my full potential. That's tough, but I have to accept it. I still see myself in elite sports for two to three years. I want to continue on my way with the goal to reach my full potential again and jump well. I know, that I still have the fire in me. Everything else is a matter of time", the 29-year-old is quoted on derstandard.at.

The Austrian Ski Association announced on Monday that Stefan Kraft, Michael Hayboeck, Manuel Fettner, Daniel Huber, Philipp Aschenwald and Jan Hoerl were named to the men's team for the WSC, Daniela Iraschko-Stolz, Eva Pinkelnig, Jacqueline Seifriedsberger, Chiara Hoelzl and Lisa Eder are on the ladies' team.