COC-M: Maximilian Lienher first winner in Schuchinsk
Jul 13, 2019·Ski Jumping
A week after the summer season of the Continental Cup was traditionally kicked off in Kranj (SLO), the ski jumpers compete on the brand new HS 140 hill in Schuchinsk (KAZ) this weekend.
The first winner in a men's COC on this hill is Maximilian Lienher. The new Ski Jumping complex in Kazakhstan seems to be a very good place for the 20-year-old Austrian, as he has already won both FIS Cups on the normal hill here on Thursday and Friday. Today he was already in the lead after the first round with 127.5 m and secured his first ever win in the Continental Cup with the longest jump of the day of 144.5 m in the final.
"This is a very nice venue, I like being here. And I think it is very good for the sport that Kazakhstan got new big hills. The competitions are well organized", said the winner.
Naoki Nakamura of Japan posted jumps of 130.5 m and 139 m and achieved his first podium in the COC, which he had only closely missed in Kranj a week ago, in second with a total of 268.4 points.
Local hero Sergey Tkachenko provided a great result for the hosting team. The bronze medalist of last winter's Junior World Championships finished third with 133 m and 135 m and 260.5 points. His best result so far was the ninth place in Zakopane in March 2018.
In fourth and seventh today, Keiichi Sato and Shohei Tochimoto completed the strong result of the Japanese team. Luca Roth, who was on the podium in both FIS Cups in Schuchinsk earlier this week, was the best German in fifth. Jernej Presecnik and Cene Prevc were sixth and ninth and represented Slovenia in today's Top 10.
Heung-Chul Choi showed a very good performance as well. The 37-year-old South Korean came in eighth and achieved his best result in the COC since 2009. The tenth place went to Austria's Stefan Rainer.
With his two wins in Kranj, Evgeniy Klimov of Russia still leads the overall ranking with 200 points, followed by Timi Zajc of Slovenia (180 points) and Naoki Nakamura (145 points).
The second competition of the weekend in Schuchinsk starts on Sunday at 3 pm CET.
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