Photo: imago / GEPA
Timi Zajc is on course for gold after two of four rounds at the Ski Flying World Championships on Kulm. While the Slovenian dominated the first day in Bad Mitterndorf, Andreas Wellinger was also able to get involved and was lurking just behind the medal ranks.
After flights at 228.5 and 227 meters, Timi Zajc is on course for gold after two of four rounds at the Ski Flying World Championships at Kulm in Bad Mitterndorf, Austria. The 23-year-old Slovenian scored a total of 435.8 points on Friday and beat local hero Stefan Kraft, who reached 225.5 and 219 meters (423.5 p.). Johann Andre Forfang from Norway took third place at halftime of the individual decision with 219.5 and 220 meters (418.7 p.).
Zajc already demonstrated his flying strength in the first round, but it was only in the final round that the Slovenian flew impressively away from the assembled competition in front of 7,800 spectators: Before the last two rounds, Zajc was a little more than ten meters ahead of second-placed Kraft.
Wellinger is lurking behind the top three
The best German on the first day of the title fights in Styria was once again Andreas Wellinger, who had already been considered one of the favorites for the world title in advance. With distances of 222 and 218.5 meters, the Ruhpoldinger is in fourth place after two rounds. “I was annoyed about the first jump because I was way too late at the take-off table. Of course you don’t like that when ski flying, but I still made the best of it,” Wellinger analyzed afterwards.
The second best DSV ski jumper was Stephan Leyhe in twelfth place. Pius Paschke and Karl Geiger, who are in 19th and 20th place respectively at halftime of the individual decision, no longer have a chance of winning precious metal.
» Event overview: Schedule & information about the Ski Flying World Championships at the Kulm in Bad Mitterndorf
Philipp Raimund struggled in training, which was rescheduled on Friday morning, and was not named in the four-man squad by national coach Stefan Horngacher.
Poland on the rise – Finnish surprise
The Polish ski jumpers presented themselves significantly better than last time in ski jumping, with Piotr Zyla in sixth place and Aleksander Zniszczol in ninth place with two athletes in the top ten. Lovro Kos takes fifth place ahead of Zyla.
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Niko Kytosaho also performed surprisingly well, taking a strong seventh place with 232.5 and 218.5 meters. For the Finn, this is the best result to date at the highest competitive level of ski jumping.
In addition to second-placed Stefan Kraft, two other jumpers from the Austrian hosts, Michael Hayböck (8th) and Jan Hörl (10th), are among the top ten after the first day of competition on the Kulm.
Kobayashi has no chance in the fight for medals
The Four Hills Tournament winner Ryoyu Kobayashi from Japan, who failed to fly at 214 and 196.5 meters and will most likely have no chance in the fight for the medals with 13th place, has expected significantly more.
His compatriot Ren Nikaido (30th), who was not allowed to start in the second round, had a similar experience. The Japanese was disqualified before his jump with an irregular jump suit.
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On Saturday the trial round starts at 1 p.m., before the individual decision from 1 p.m. (everything live at skispringen.com) continues with the third and fourth scoring rounds. The team decision will follow on Sunday at the Kulm.
Find out more here at skisprung.com.