Stories around the 65th 4-Hills-Tournament

How cool was this 4-Hills-Tournament. The final in Bischofshofen is always something very special, it's incredible how many stories come along with such Ski Jumping event.

- Daniel-Andre Tande was devastated after his final jump. You are so close to achieving your goal, and then it's all over within a split second. Tande was the loser at this point. Right after his jump, he had the chance to hide from all the cameras in the equipment control room of the FIS - Quiet. When Tande came out again he presented himself as what he is: a great athlete who had a great 4-Hills-Tournament, of which the 22-year-old can be really proud. He was a winner in third of the overall ranking.

- Besides Kamil Stoch, Polish head coach Stefan Horngacher is the big winner of the 4-Hills-Tournament. Three athletes in the Top 4, this is amazing. The former assistant coach of Werner Schuster made the Polish team live up to its potential already in his first year there. Insiders know this is a result of hard work. Now it will be exciting to see their performances at the WSC in Lahti, especially in the team competition.

- Secretly, calmly and quietly, 17-year-old Domen Prevc regained the Yellow Bib of the overall World Cup leader, which he had lost in Innsbruck. Prevc was fourth in Bischofshofen and ninth in the 4-Hills-Tournament overall. Strong! Considering the huge expectations before the start of the 4-Hills this might be rated differently. But: Domen Prevc is the most consistent and best ski jumper after 11 competitions this season - This is great!

- Maciej Kot finished fourth in the 4-Hills-Tournament. But when two teammates are doing even better in the 4-Hills-Tournament overall ranking than it's great for the team, but your own strong result might not get that much of the deserved attention.

- Piotr Zyla is second in the 4-Hills-Tournament. The man, who is loved by the Polish fans because he is so straight, funny, honest, simply Zyla, could hardly believe it in the outrun. If one watched him after his great success yesterday then it becomes obvious, why Zyla is so extremely popular in Poland.

- Michael Hayboeck was jumping extremely strong in the final, like in Oberstdorf. Who knows what would have happened if he hadn't suffered from a stomach flu in Innsbruck. The same applies to Stefan Kraft. One doesn't have to worry about the two top Austrians, both will show what they are capable of during the rest of the winter.

- And also Markus Eisenbichler was stopped by a virus during the best 4-Hills-Tournament of his career, and that on the Paul-Ausserleitner-hill in Bischofshofen, a hill that should be perfect for him. Half speed ahead, but half speed is not enough for a top result in this strong field. He was 13th in Bischofshofen and seventh in the 4-Hills-Tournament. Top results, and he also won the hearts of many fans. Eisei is a really likeable guy with huge potential.

- Fetti rocks the house. Manuel Fettner is having the best winter of his career. And that's really something. Manuel Fettner is in the World Cup now for 16 years, and in the last four years (since Heinz Kuttin became head coach in Austria) he is improving constantly. 46, 33, 24, 7 (currently) are his results in the overall World Cup. If this trend continues, Fettner will win the overall World Cup title next winter.

- Jurij Tepes finished strong seventh in Bischofshofen. This seventh place was a season best for him. The fact that more would have been possible for Tepes, because the Slovene was in the lead after the first round almost got lost in the celebrations around overall winner Kamil Stoch and the Polish team. Tepes will be able to live with it.

Was anybody forgotten? Yes, of course. Stephan Leyhe and Andreas Stjernen for example, both were jumping really well. This 4-Hills-Tournament was full of strong athletes and performances, outshined by the outstanding performances of Tande, Stoch and Kraft. But they definitely must be mentioned. That's sport.

And now?

The World Cup continues - and it couldn't have been planned any better - in Wisla and Zakopane (both in Poland). The atmosphere there is usually, let's say, extraordinary, and so the fans and athletes can expect something even more special this year.