In our series "FIS Ski Jumping-Talk" we present interviews with ski jumping athletes and officials. Today: Dawid Kubacki (25).

Dawid Kubacki gained attention especially at the beginning of the summer season. He won both Grand Prix competitions in Wisla (indivdual and with the Polish team) and also took the win in Hinterzarten. His streak continued in the Continental Cup, where he finished second overall and secured an additional quota spot in the World Cup for the Polish team.

FIS Ski Jumping: Hello Dawid. What do you think about how this summer season went for you?

Dawid Kubacki: I'm very happy about this summer. After the winter I lost my place on the Polish A-team and went down to the B-team. But I was working very hard from the beginning of the summer and I also have a new coach now. We talked about the goals we want to achieve next season and we were working really hard. This hard work brought me some good results. I'm really satisfied with what I've achieved until now, but there's still a lot of work left to do until the winter. This is what I'm focusing on now.

FIS Ski Jumping: Do you already know if your are back on the A-team now?

Kubacki: I haven't heard anything about that, but for me that doesn't matter. I earned my place on the World Cup team with the results in the Continental Cup. We have the rule, that the person who earned that additional quota gets this place on the team. So I can compete in the World Cup. That was my goal for the summer season.

FIS Ski Jumping: You mentioned that you made some changes in your training. What exactly did you change?

Kubacki: This was mainly about two things: I started working with a psychologist. This is very important. And I also changed something about my take-off and that works really well in the first phase of the jump, in the air. I also worked on the landing and improved my judges' marks. These were the main issues I was talking about with the coaches before the season.

FIS Ski Jumping: Last winter you achieved very good results in the Continental Cup, in the World Cup it didn't go that well. Is the difference between the World Cup and the COC that big or is it also because you are a little more nervous in the World Cup?

Kubacki: It's definitely a mental issue. That's why I started working with a psychologist in order to improve my performance in the World Cup and also in the Continental Cup. These competitions in summer were very important for me, it was a tough fight and we also had strong competitors in the COC. In the first competitions, for example, Peter Prevc was also participating.

FIS Ski Jumping: What are your goals for this season?

Kubacki: So far me and my coach only talked about the goals for the summer. The main goal was to earn the place on the World Cup team. For the winter, my goal is to compete in the World Cup for the whole season. Of course there are other goals as well, but this is the main one and I'll give my best to achieve that.

FIS Ski Jumping: It's a very good situation for the Polish team, that you have to fight so hard for a chance to compete in the World Cup. This means that you have a lot of strong athletes. What do you think is possible for your team next season?

Kubacki: That's true. We have a really tough competition within the Polish team. That's very good for Polish ski jumping. We have many good jumpers and it's a hard fight to earn your place on the team. We can start with the maximum number of athletes, seven in the World Cup and seven in the Continental Cup. This gives us the chance to fight for good results with many competitors.

FIS Ski Jumping: Do you think it's possible for Poland to fight for one of the Top 3 places in the Nation's Cup?

Kubacki: I think it's really possible. As I said we have a strong team and everybody will be fighting for the points. We can also achieve good results in the team competitions and score many points for the Nation's Cup there. I think it will be a good winter for Polish ski jumping.

FIS Ski Jumping: What are you looking forward to the most when you think about the World Cup opening?

Kubacki: It's always nice to compete in the World Cup because there are always many fans, who cheer us on and support us. I'm looking forward to it and I want to show good jumps there, that's most important.

FIS Ski Jumping: Last question: What do you think about the new equipment control before the start of the jump?

Kubacki: We wanted this because we saw what happened on top of the hill in the previous years. I'm really happy about this, because there's no room for manipulations anymore and it will make the competitions fairer. I'm happy about this move from the FIS.

FIS Ski Jumping: Thanks a lot and all the best!

Source: fis-ski.com