Ahead of the season opener in Wisla, Four Hills defending champion Kamil Stoch speaks about his competitors this winter, the summer high-flyer Dawid Kubacki and his business relationship with his wife.

Four Hills: Kamil, you mentioned once that the winter rewards you for the hard work during summer. Did you train all summer long or could you just relax yourself a little as well?

 

Of course we always have many training sessions during the summer. We started very early after the winter and only had a break of about a week. But between the sessions and the competitions we had a couple of weeks of free time as well. I’ve spent that time with the family and went on holiday.

 

One of your teammates showed great performances in the Summer Grand Prix. Do you have Dawid Kubacki on your list for the winter season as well?

 

Of course! Dawid has a huge potential that he just hasn’t shown until now. But I truly believe that he will become a great ski jumper in the future. I wish him all the best because he’s also a great guy, a great teammate and I like him very much. I’m sure he’ll achieve a lot.

 

Now the season opener in Wisla is just around the corner. You, Wellinger, Kraft or Tande will probably be the favourites again. Who do you think can surprise this season?

 

You never know what happens in the future. You don’t know who will rise up and start winning. There are a lot of jumpers on a similar level. But of course, as you said: Stefan Kraft, Andreas Wellinger. I think that Severin Freund will also come back in a really good shape. By the way, I wish him all the best and keep my fingers crossed for him. The Prevc brothers, the Slovenian guys are on my list and as well the whole Norwegian team. There are a lot of athletes which have everything you need to get to the top.

 

You already mentioned it: After the Four Hills Tournament, two more major events are waiting for us this winter. The Olympic Games in Pyeongchang and the Ski Flying World Championships in Oberstdorf. What’s your season highlight?

 

As I already said. I just want to jump as good as I can and enjoy ski jumping. That’s the main target in the upcoming winter. But of course I want to be one of the best this winter. That doesn’t mean I need to win everything to be satisfied. I just want to be a good ski jumper and give everything that I have in every single jump.

 

If you could win one of these competitions. Which one would you choose?

 

I have no favourite title (laughs). I think all these three titles are important. And you have to invest a lot to achieve one of them. Nobody knows what you have to invest to win the gold medal at the Olympic Games or the gold medal at the Ski Flying World Championships. Each of these titles costs a lot of energy, a lot of work and also time which we need for training, for traveling and that we can’t spend with our families.

 

At the end, a question asked by one of our social media followers: Your wife is your manager. How is it like working with your wife?

 

I think it’s a perfect deal for me because she is the person I trust the most. I know that she’d never do anything that isn’t good for me. She knows me perfectly and she’ll always do things that help me. So, it’s the perfect deal for me.

 

Thank you for your time Kamil.

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