Niklas Bachlinger and Thea Minyan Bjoerseth are Junior World Champions
Feb 11, 2021·Ski Jumping
Niklas Bachlinger of Austria and Thea Minyan Bjoerseth of Norway claimed the indivdiual Ski Jumping titles at the Junior World Championships in Lahti (FIN) on Thursday.
The 19-year-old Niklas Bachlinger, who made his World Cup debut in late January in Willingen, won the gold medal in his first Junior World Championships with jumps of 96 m and 95.5 m that earned him a total of 263.9 points.
Only 0.6 points behind the winner, David Haagen came in second with 96 m and 95.5 m and 263.3 points and so silver also went to a ski jumper from Austria. Switzerland's Dominik Peter was in the lead after the first round, just ahead of Bachlinger, with his 97.5 m jump. In the end, the 19-year-old won the bronze medal with a final jump of 95 m and 261.5 points.
The outstanding team result of Austria was completed by Daniel Tschofenig in fourth and Elias Medwed in seventh. After their performance today, the Austrians are now also the top favorite for gold in the team competition in Lahti on Friday afternoon.
The fifth place on the HS 100 normal hill went to Jernej Presecnik of Slovenia, Ren Nikaido, the best Japanese athlete today, finished sixth.
In the women's competition, 17-year-old Norwegian Thea Minyan Bjoerseth, who won silver at the last championships in Oberwiesenthal, took a clear win ahead of Josephine Pagnier of France and Slovenia's Jerneja Brecl.
"When I came to Lahti I was hoping to win the gold medal. After the competition it was an incredible feeling to see the 1 next to my name and know that I made it", the happy winner said after the competition.
Second-placed Josephine Pagnier also showed a convincing performance but came in 20.5 points behind Bjoerseth. The third place went to Jerneja Brecl of Slovenia.
The World Championships continue for the young women already tomorrow with the team competition starting at 5 pm CET (6 pm LOC).
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