These big names are missing in Beijing

Hockey After the voluntary Olympic break in Pyeongchang in 2018, the North American professional league NHL wanted to return to the Olympic tournament in 2022. However, the league withdrew its commitment shortly before Christmas due to numerous Covid cases and for safety reasons. Instead of stars like Connor McDavid, Alexander Ovechkin or Leon Draisaitl, only players from European leagues or American youth leagues are fighting for the medals. Ski jumping Marita Kramer: The Austrian caught a corona infection at the worst possible time and therefore missed the major event in which she was considered a sure medal bank in women's ski jumping. The 20-year-old won six competitions this World Cup season - the last of which was in Willingen as a Corona positive, as it turned out the next day.

Marita Kramer has to watch. © APA / EXPA/JFK

Andreas Wellinger: With the German, the defending champion is missing on the normal hill. The 26-year-old also won silver on the large hill and in the team in Pyeongchang in 2018. In 2019 he suffered a torn cruciate ligament and cartilage damage in his knee. This season Wellinger fought his way back into the top 30 of the World Cup - not enough to make it into the squad. There was also a corona infection. His compatriot and 2014 team Olympic champion Severin Freund will have to watch with him. Alpine skiing Sofia Goggia (questionable): The Italian is a strong candidate. The downhill dominator of the season suffered a serious knee injury in the Super-G in Cortina on January 23rd: partial tear of the cruciate ligament, sprained knee, “small fracture” in the fibula. The 29-year-old hopes to be able to take part in the games with physiotherapy treatments. The women's speed races in Yanqing are scheduled for February 11th (Super-G) and February 15th (Downhill). In the downhill, Goggia would have been the clear favorite for gold if she had been at full strength.

Roland Leitinger: For the giant slalom specialist in the ÖSV alpine team, history repeated itself in 2018; he has to watch the Olympics again because of a torn cruciate ligament. The 30-year-old from Salzburg suffered it in a fall during training on the Reiteralm in November. The 2017 vice world champion had previously finished second in the first World Cup race of the season in Sölden. Freestyle Giulia Tanno: The Swiss ski freestyler was the benchmark in the 2020 and 2021 Big Air World Cup. At the X-Games in Aspen in mid-January, the 23-year-old suffered a ligament injury in her knee while warming up for the slopestyle competition. Instead of going to China, she's going to the operating table. Particularly bitter: Four years ago, Tanno also missed the Olympic Games due to an injury due to a broken upper arm. Biathlon Julian Eberhard: In 2018, the biathlete finished fourth in the sprint and narrowly missed an Olympic medal, this time the mass start World Cup third place finisher from 2019 doesn't get a chance at all. The Salzburg man had a serious fall at the World Cup opener in Östersund and ended his season prematurely in January due to persistent physical problems.

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These big names are missing in Beijing

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