The four ski jumpers from the neighboring country showed the German tour travelers their potential for the first time. On Sunday, the three of them gathered on the podium, with Daniel Tschofenig and Jan Hörl taking third and second place. Finally, her colleague Stefan Kraft didn’t miss it and took victory with a wide set.
It is not known whether he was already thinking about the anniversary he has now celebrated; in 2014/15 he was Austria’s last tour winner to date. In any case, he clearly encouraged his fellow jumpers. With another Austria success.
The positions of the best ten to 15 ski jumpers were shaken apart
It was a classic opening of the Four Hills Tournament. The current Oberstdorf winners have once again distinguished themselves and made the next ten days exciting with this opening date. The positions of the best ten to 15 ski jumpers were shaken apart; most of those shaken still managed to escape. The typically icy Oberstdorf cold also accompanied the ski jumpers into the valley with the wind.
:Ski Jumping World Cup: All dates at a glance
The women and men got started at the end of November and started the new season. The ski jumping calendar 2024/25 with an overview of all competitions.
For the ski jumpers, the wind partly brought help, partly it took away all their hopes – and then gave them back again. This was the case with the young Austrian Daniel Tschofenig, who was almost left behind in the first round, but was then pushed forward again by the wind. Pius Paschke, the best DSV athlete, was also able to stay in the top four despite a worse second jump. There was only one person he didn’t have on hand that evening: the hill athlete Stefan Kraft. He was stronger than the circumstances, which is why he once again won the Four Hills opener in Oberstdorf. Of course, he is also a fan of this system. “I really like this jump,” he confirmed; and he had already won on it several times.
The evening rearranged the rankings. Some suddenly found themselves further ahead, others struggled or had to accept a defeat like Andreas Wellinger from Ruhpolding. Before the tour, he was still optimistic that he would end up at the top. He is now in 20th place after touching down far too early in the first round. He clearly missed the jump at the take-off table, although his long legs – with which he had won in the same place a year ago – did not exert any pressure this time. This mistake has been bothering him all winter. The result is that Wellinger is not making any progress at the moment. Completely different from his teammate Karl Geiger.
Geiger was probably surprised himself, he flew and flew
In the second round he sat comfortably in the leader’s corner, repeatedly filmed live, probably because the cameraman liked Geiger’s smile so much. His performance so far this season has been anything but satisfactory. Geiger appeared as an athlete who had lost all important psychological paraphernalia shortly before the jump: confidence, punctuality, the jump, and above all the ability to sail far. Because the spectators usually concentrate on the top ten, the perplexed violinist usually trudged back out of the stadium alone without support – and in his hometown.
But in the final he managed a jump that contained everything that is important. Geiger was probably surprised himself, he flew and flew and suddenly into a zone that he hadn’t seen flying in for a long time. And because he overtook so many opponents and ultimately ended up in eighth place, Geiger, whose sports friend Markus Eisenberger will be there again at the next stop in Garmisch, could perhaps sit in the leader’s comfortable chair there for a long time.
#Opening #Hills #Tournament #Austrians #finish #front #Pius #Paschke
