Era of Alexander Pointner over - Heinz Kuttin new Austrian head coach
Alexander Pointner - FIS
After ten years in office, the time of Alexander Pointner as head coach of the ski jumping team in the Austrian Ski Association (ÖSV) is now over.
According to a media release, the association now decided to make some changes in their ski jumping team. "After a close analysis of the Olympic season we decided to set a new course in ski jumping. I want to thank Alexander Pointner for the good cooperation over more than ten years and his great commitment to the sport of ski jumping", said Hans Pum, sports director in the ÖSV.
Over the past weeks and months, problems within the team, also during the Olympic Games, and the public criticism by Gregor Schlierenzauer, who mentioned the fact that his coach Markus Maurberger was not in Sochi as one of the reasons for his disappointing results there and demanded changes in the team at the World Cup final in Planica, raised speculations concerning the future of Alexander Pointner in the ÖSV.
With the 43-year-old, who started coaching Austria's national team in the 2004/05 season, they won the overall World Cup title four times and the Nation's Cup nine times, took six wins of the 4-Hills-Tournament and won a total of 32 medals at World Championships and Olympic Games.
New head coach will be former double World Champion and three-time Olympic medalist Heinz Kuttin. The 43-year-old started coaching right after the end of his career as a ski jumper in 1995. Kuttin worked with the German Ski Association (DSV) and was head coach of the Polish team. 2009 he returned to Austria, where he worked at the training center in Villach where he was also coaching Thomas Morgenstern and Martin Koch.
