German ladies win exciting team event
Jan 19, 2019·Ski Jumping
In contrast to the last two days, the second FIS Ladies' World Cup competition in Zao (JPN) took place in better weather with blue skies and better wind conditions. The spectators saw an exciting competition at the highest level.
At halftime, the strong German ladies (Juliane Seyfarth, Ramona Straub, Carina Vogt, Katharina Althaus) had a lead of more than 40 points over the Austrians (Jacqueline Seifriedsberger, Eva Pinkelnig, Chiara Hoelzl, Daniela Iraschko-Stolz), but it got exciting again towards the end.
The lead was down to nine points after seven of the eight jumps before Katharina Althaus secured the win for her team with the final jump against Daniela Iraschko-Stolz.
"I'm very happy about our result today. We have a great team and a great team spirit. I'm happy that I could show such great jumps today and I hope it will be similar tomorrow. Today was a great day, the sun was shining and the wind was not that strong. It wasn't easy, but I think it was a fair competition", Katharina Althaus explained after the competition.
Representing the second-placed Austrians, Eva Pinkelnig said: "It was amazing, everyone did a great job. We were able to show great jumps and we are happy about that. The conditions were like most of the time in Japan, a bit windy. But it was nice to jump and the jury did its best to ensure fair conditions for everyone."
The team of Japan finished third, followed by the also strong Norwegians. "We are very happy about today's result for our team. My jumping is not so good at the moment, with the help of my teammates we were able to achieve this result. The conditions were not so bad today, there was no snowfall, but, as always, some wind", said Yuki Ito.
The ladies' of Slovenia came in fifth, the sixth place went to the Russian team.
The Chinese team of head coach Heinz Kuttin was seventh, ahead of the USA after seven of the eight jumps, but in the end, they came in eighth, behind the US Americans.
Germany has a clear lead in the Nations Cup with 1948 points, Austria (1244 points) and Japan (1074 points) follow in second and third.
The third and final competition in Zao is held on Sunday at 8 am CET (4 pm LOC).
)
