For the first time in the young history of Snowboard Germany, a big air athlete with medal chances will start at the Olympics.
Our interview with Annika Morgan.
It was the sentence of her life: With a third place at the Big Air World Cup in Steamboat Springs, Annika Morgan made snowboarding history.
She is the first German freestyler to jump onto the podium in the spectacular jumping discipline.
Our interview with the 19-year-old from Mittenwald, who starts for SC Miesbach.
Annika Morgan, have you now realized what you did at the beginning of December?
Morgan:
So slowly.
Most of the time I don't even think about it, but then I look at my cell phone and realize: Wow!
Because of all the news?
Morgan:
My photos on Instagram, the countless messages.
It's unbelievable who got in touch and thought of me, even my skating club from Mittenwald.
That made me particularly happy.
Your ice skating club?
Morgan:
Yeah, I was in that until I was 15.
And until I was 13, I also competed in competitions.
I did this for a total of twelve years.
Does this past suit you now, when you jump over huge kickers with your snowboard and turn around your own axis several times?
Morgan:
Does it really happen to me, because I turn left when ice skating - and that's my stronger direction on a snowboard as well.
Did you also have an international level of performance in ice skating?
Morgan:
Mostly it was regional competitions, Bavarian championships or something.
Internationally there were only a few Friendship Cups, for example in Italy.
Do you enjoy both sports equally?
Morgan:
I'd say I enjoy snowboarding more, but when I'm on the ice I have sooo much fun.
What bothered me was the pressure - and that I had to know a whole freestyle by heart.
That stressed me a lot.
Once I stood on the ice and cried because I had a blackout and didn't know what to do.
That was traumatizing for me.
So the cliché of tough competitive sport on the ice is true?
Morgan:
Absolutely.
(laughs)
Do you feel freer on the board? Last but not least, that is what laypeople associate with this sport.
Morgan:
Yeah, exactly.
But also all the chemistry in the snowboard community.
Everyone is friends with everyone.
You drive with everyone.
There are no competitors in that sense, because for me they are all friends.
There's no other sport like that.
Therefore the change?
Morgan:
Ice skating was a huge part of me, but I had to make a decision, also because of the school I could go to (the elite sports boarding school CJD in Berchtesgaden / Red.).
A stroke of luck, because that's where I had the best time of my life.
The people, all the experiences - you never have that in a normal school.
How long have you been doing both sports side by side?
Morgan:
I got into ice skating when I was three and snowboarding when I was seven.
During the week I was mostly on the ice and on the weekends on the mountain.
And where were you better?
Morgan:
At first on the ice, but then from twelve onwards I got victories on the snowboard.
In ice skating, it was much harder to get on the podium.
Where you have now landed again - in the demanding Big Air World Cup. Your nerve strength was particularly noteworthy in the final, because after the first failed attempt, jumps two and three had to be perfect. . .
Morgan:
I was amazed myself, but apparently I have this nerve, because it was the same in Chur (at the World Cup opener).
When I think about it: Actually, I'm never really nervous at the start.
They didn't really want to unpack the second jump, a backside 1080, did they?
Morgan:
Not really, but I had trained him so often on the air cushion in Scharnitz that my trainer said: Not much can go wrong there.
It was a bit shaky in qualifying, but it worked in the final.
What was your most challenging jump in figure skating?
Morgan:
I was able to double axel for a while.
And once I did a triple somersault, but it was a little underserved.
Which is more difficult: the backside 1080 or the double axel?
Morgan:
Definitely the double axel.
You are now one of the female stars in Big Air, and you are said to feel more at home in slopestyle.
Morgan:
That's right.
For me it is still unimaginable that I made my first podium in Big Air.
I don't know why, but I usually get better results in big air.
Explained for the layman: What is the attraction of the two related disciplines for you?
Morgan:
In big air there is only one jump per run, in slopestyle you have so much more: kickers, rails, side hits.
You can be much more creative there.
If you can do all of that, you can snowboard really well.
Like a freestyle in figure skating?
Morgan:
Exactly.
Except that luckily you don't have to learn everything by heart (laughs).
The World Cup will only continue at the turn of the year. Then the Olympic Games in Beijing are due. Already excited?
Morgan:
Yeah, yes.
But the anticipation prevails.
It's my first game.
In Pyeongchang 2018 I was still watching the girls - now I'm there myself!
In Sochi 2014, you should have cheered while ice skating.
Morgan:
Yeah, exactly.
Your goal now is probably an Olympic medal.
Morgan:
Actually, I try to go there with no expectations because if I have any, I'll probably end up being disappointed.
.
.
Of course it would be great if it worked.
Interview: Uli Kellner