COC-M Vikersund: Maiden win for Anders Haare
Dec 08, 2019·Ski Jumping
After the ski jumpers of Japan claimed a 1-2 finish at the Continental Cup in Vikersund (NOR) on Saturday, the same was achieved by the hosts from Norway on Sunday.
Anders Haare, who was already jumping very well in this weekend's first event but was disqualified after the final round when he was third, presented himself in great shape again on Sunday. With 108.5 m and 118 m and 246.2 points the 20-year-old took his first-ever win in the COC on his home hill.
"Today was just fantastic. I feel like this is a huge comeback from yesterday, and it especially feels good to win in my own hometown on a hill I've been training in since I was 13 years old", said the happy winner.
The 1-2 finish for Norway was secured by Sondre Ringen, who posted jumps of 110.5 m and 113 m that earned him a total of 243.5 points. "After yesterday's competition I was afraid I wouldn't be able to match the 4th place, so I was very relieved and happy when I got second today", said Ringen.
After the first half of the competition, Japan's Yuken Iwasa was in the lead with 112 m. In the second round he landed at 114 m and could not keep up with the Norwegians. In the end he finished on a strong third place with his 241.8 points.
With his performance today, the Japanese prevented a podium sweep by the Norwegian team as the fourth place today went to Andreas Granerud Buskum, who missed the podium by only 0.4 points.
The two best athletes of the first competition of the weekend in Vikersund, Taku Takeuchi and Keiichi Sato, completed yet another strong result for Team Japan in fifth and seventh. Clemens Leitner was the best Austrian in sixth, best jumper of the German team was Martin Hamann, who tied for seventh with Sato, just ahead of his teammate Luca Roth (9th). The two Germans were followed by a pack of three Austrians with Stefan Huber (10th), Markus Schiffner (11th) and Manuel Fettner (12th).
After the first two competitions this season, Taku Takeuchi leads the overall ranking of the Continental Cup with 145 points. Sondre Ringen (130 points) and Keiichi Sato (116 points) follow in second and third.
The COC continues next weekend with two competitions in Ruka (FIN).
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