COC-M: Home win for Viktor Polasek
Aug 14, 2021·Ski Jumping
The third Continental Cup competition of the summer was held today in Frenstat in 30° C and bright sunshine, a total of 72 athletes provided for a large and also top-class field of competitors. The level of the event was extremely high, many well-known jumpers could not qualify for the final round of the Top 30.
In Frenstat (CZE), about a three-hour drive east of Prague, local hero Viktor Polasek claimed the surprising win ahead of Austria's Mika Schwann and Philipp Raimund of Germany.
With his performance today, Viktor Polasek secured the long-awaited top result for the Czech team. Polasek's win today was the first for the Czech Republic since Lukas Hlava, who already ended his career, won in Frenstat 2018.
"Honestly, my jumps today were not good. It gives me self-confidence, that I was still able to win here. Lukas Hlava motivated me all day long to follow in his footsteps and win here as well. I'm glad that I could do that", said Viktor Polasek.
The currently best Czech jumper already proved his very good shape with the 21st place in the Grand Prix in Courchevel last weekend, today the 24-year-old achieved yet another great result. Together with Roman Koudelka, Polasek, who has been considered a top talent up until three years ago, but was then not able to follow up on his previous success, carries the hope of the new Czech head coach Vasja Bajc. Koudelka is still struggling with knee problems right now, but the five-time World Cup winner is on his way back to the World Cup. With Cestmir Kozisek in 19th, another Czech jumper achieved a good result today.
The best of the German team this evening was Philipp Raimund in third, Luca Roth was 14th, and David Siegel 17th. Moritz Baer, who was second in the overall ranking of the COC before this competition, narrowly missed the final round in 31st. Finland's Eetu Nousiainen was 12th and now leads the overall ranking with 202 points, followed by the three Germans Philipp Raimund, David Siegel, and Moritz Baer.
Strong performance by Andrew Urlaub
Andrew Urlaub of the USA showed a great performance today and tied for fifth with Poland's Maciej Kot. This was the by far best result of his career for Andrew Urlaub, a great success for the US American.
Three Italians in the final
With Alex Insam (30th), Francesco Cecon (24th), and Davide Bresadola (25th), three Italian jumpers qualified for the final round of the best 30. Even though it was not enough for a top 10 result today, it was still a good day for the Italian team.
Fatih Arda Ipcioglu in the Top 30 again
For the second time this summer, Fatih Arda Ipcioglu of Turkey made the cut for the final round, a strong performance by the 23-year-old and some important points and a real motivation for the Turkish Ski Jumping team.
The second Continental Cup competition in Frenstat follows on Saturday at 10 am CET (trial round: 9 am CET).
A women's Grand Prix competition will then be held on the same hill on Sunday.
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