The Austrian Nordic Combined team placed first after the Ski Jumping round.
The biathletes Paul Gerstgaser and Philipp Orter answered a few questions after the race.
How do you feel right now?
Paul: "I feel absolutely great. I was very nervous during the ski jumping section, mainly because of the wind, but in the end it turned out the best it could for us."
Philipp: "It is incredible how far we were able to jump. Now we have to hope that we will perform as well in the cross country skiing."
How did you prepare for the race?
Paul: "Nothing special; we trained and we did well and then the coach said it would be the two of us to start for the Austrian team."
What do you think are you chances in the second round?
Philipp: "I am sure they are great. We are both good skiers and we can put everything in it."
Philipp, I know it was your birthday yesterday, so today's win in the race would be a nice present.
Philipp: "You are right; it would be a great gift. I hope we pull it off."
Boys, do you have any special rituals before races?
Paul: "I don't have any."
Philipp: "I have this special sentence I always repeat, but it is a secret and I am not going to tell you. It works as a remedy against nervousness."
Why did you choose Nordic Combined?
Paul: "At first I only did cross country skiing, but that was rather boring. This combination is much more interesting and it is great fun."
Philipp: "I used to play football but my father was not very happy about it so I started ski jumping and got involved in the combination."
Philipp, in the previous race you were one of the favourites, but in the end it did not work out. You told me that the jumping part was poor and the skiing wasn’t good either.
Philipp: "That is true, unfortunately I fell when going down the hill and then I was too slow, so I had no chance of a good result in the race."
Could you describe the EYOWF 2011 in one word?
Paul: "Incredible."
Philipp: "I absolutely agree, that word gives a true picture of the event."
If I now decided to do Nordic Combined, what would I have to do?
Paul: "I'm sure you'd be quite good at it. You need to train a lot and you also need luck on your side."
Philipp: "Well, you would have to start earlier, as a child, so it a bit too late now."
Guys, thank you very much for the interview and I wish you the best of luck.