1-2 finish for Austria in Hinzenbach-quali
Sep 28, 2019·Ski Jumping
Gregor Schlierenzauer won the qualification for the FIS Grand Prix 2019 in Hinzenbach (AUT). The 53-time World Cup winner posted a jump of 88 m (123.8 points) on the HS 90 in Hinzenbach and came in ahead of his teammate Philipp Aschenwald (86.5 m; 122.1 points) and Poland's Piotr Zyla (88.5 m; 122.0 points).
In good conditions, Schlierenzauer could once again prove his good shape this summer after the 29-year-old only closely missed the win in the Grand Prix in Hinterzarten earlier this season. For Gregor Schlierenzauer working with former German head coach Werner Schuster since this spring seems to be paying off.
Behind Zyla, normal hill World Champion Dawid Kubacki finished fourth. The surprise of the day was provided the athlete, who came in fifth: Taku Takeuchi was the best of the Japanese team in today's qualification. A year ago, this would not have meant much, but in summer 2019 this is a big achievement, considering the strong performances of the Kobayashis and Satos this season. Takeuchi has already presented himself in a strong shape with two wins in the COC in Stams (AUT) last weekend.
Stefan Kraft was sixth and completed the very good team result of the Austrians. Killian Peier and Norway's Halvor Egner Granerud finished seventh and eighth.
Three athletes were disqualified, and so Finland's Arttu Pohjola, who jumped on 72.5 m, was the only athlete in the field of 54 competitors who failed to make the cut in the qualification.
The second-to-last competition of the FIS Grand Prix 2019 starts on Sunday at 3:30 pm CET.
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