Ski jumper Pius Paschke got off to a good start in the 73rd Four Hills Tournament and is prepared for the fight for the gold eagle. However, the top favorites come from Austria after a red-white-red demonstration of power in the qualification in Oberstdorf. The 34-year-old World Cup leader Paschke came sixth on Saturday and can therefore go into the competition on Sunday (4.30 p.m./ZDF and Eurosport) confidently.
Paschke jumped 139.0 m (154.9 points) in front of 16,500 spectators – a new record for World Cup qualifications – and showed improvement compared to the mixed dress rehearsal in Engelberg. However, five Austrians finished ahead of the veteran from Kiefersfelden, led by qualification winner Daniel Tschofenig.
The 22-year-old Tschofenig won with 141.5 m (167.5 points) ahead of Stefan Kraft (164.8), the last tour winner from Austria in 2015, and Michael Hayböck (162.3). Jan Hörl and Maximilian Ortner also finished ahead of Paschke. Oberstdorf local hero Karl Geiger, who won on his home hill four years ago, impressed with ninth place. Last year’s winner Andreas Wellinger (Ruhpolding) still had some room for improvement in 13th place.
Leyhe (Willingen/33rd) and Philipp Raimund (Oberstdorf/39th), who had prevailed against former world champion Markus Eisenbichler in the fight for the remaining starting places in the German team, qualified poorly. Youngster Adrian Tittel (Aue/45th) will also be there on Sunday.
Two old stars of the scene got stuck in the qualification: The four-time Olympic champion Simon Amann from Switzerland was eliminated in 51st place – he celebrated his World Cup debut in Oberstdorf 27 years ago. The Pole Dawid Kubacki, 2020/21 tour winner, also said goodbye in 53rd place – the 34-year-old was given preference over Poland’s troubled top star Kamil Stoch (37).
#Hills #Tournament #Oberstdorf #Good #Paschke #Austrians
