WARSAW, April 14 (Xinhua) -- The new coach of the Poland ski jumping team Thomas Thurnbichler wants to cooperate closely with Adam Malysz who will remain in charge as a director of the ski jumping team in the Polish Ski Association.
Malysz, a former legendary ski jumper, was strongly criticized by the athletes after deciding to sack coach Michal Dolezal due to the team's disappointing performance at the Beijing Olympics 2022. Poles won just one bronze thanks to Dawid Kubacki who met the expectations on the normal hill.
It was believed that Malysz may have ended his cooperation with the team due to the conflict with key players such as Kamil Stoch and Dawid Kubacki. However, Thurnbichler, the Austrian coach had asked him for help and Malysz confirmed his continuation as the ski jumping team director.
"Coach Thurnbichler counts on me. I was thinking about that but I believe it is a new chapter for us. After hiring Thurnbichler I'm willing to work hard to achieve success," the four-time Olympic medalist said in Thursday's interview for Eurosport.
Malysz admitted that the athletes' criticisms hurt him a lot.
"It wasn't a pleasant situation. I have said many times that I dedicated myself to the team, I did everything for the guys. When they criticized me in the media, I felt even more pain. For this reason, Thurbichler was one step away from interrupting the negotiations and refusing our offer", the director of the Poland ski jumping team added.
The Austrian Thurnbichler became a new coach for Stoch and his teammates on 5th April. The president of the Polish Ski Association Apoloniusz Tajner revealed that it was Malysz who chose the candidate. Thurnbichler's contract is valid until 2026. ■
