Daniela Iraschko-Stolz wins Ladies' Raw Air opener
Mar 10, 2019·Ski Jumping
Austria's Daniela Iraschko-Stolz surprised in the first competition of the premiere edition of the Ladies' Raw Air. The 35-year-old won on the Holmenkollen in Oslo ahead of the two Germans Juliane Seyfarth and Katharina Althaus.
In once again difficult conditions and bright sunshine, Iraschko-Stolz posted jumps of 120 m and 121 m and won the competition with a lead of 15.7 points over second-placed Juliane Seyfarth.
"It's great to win here in Oslo, of course I also had the necessary luck, but you need that on a day like today. It was difficult today, especially in the first round, but now I'm extremely happy about this win on the Holmenkollen", explained the happy winner.
Germany's Ramona Straub, who was en route to the podium today in second after the first round crashed after the landing of her strong final jump and lied motionless in the outrun at first. Straub was then able to walk out of the outrun with the help of two paramedics. "I can't say yet what exactly happened, but I don't have a good feeling. Ramona complains about pain in her knee. I think that she will return home now for further medical checks", head coach Andreas Bauer said before the first diagnosis. Despite the crash, Straub finished seventh today.
"It was not easy to jump here today because the wind was changing a lot. But I'm very satisfied with my performance, my second jump was really good. But first and foremost I hope that Ramona is not seriously injured. It's hard to be really happy right now", said Katharina Althaus. Juliane Seyfarth said after the competition: "It was a good competition for Katharina and myself, especially in the second round when we could move up to the podium. This is really cool. But Ramona Straub's crash overshadows it a bit and so we are not as happy as we would normally be after such a result."
Sara Takanashi (JPN) and local hero Maren Lundby followed in fourth and fifth today.
With her win, Iraschko-Stolz also took the lead in the overall ranking of the Raw Air, only 0.1 points ahead of top favorite Maren Lundby. Katharina Althaus and Juliane Seyfarth are third and fourth.
The Raw Air continues for the ladies tomorrow with the training (6:50 pm CET) and the qualification (8:30 pm CET) in Lillehammer. The athletes will start the three-hour-long trip from Oslo to Lillehammer at 2:30 pm.
* Update:
A first medical examination showed that Ramona Straub didn't suffer any serious injuries. But she will return home on Monday and undergo an MRI exam in Munich. This means that the Raw Air is definitely over for the 25-year-old.
)
