Stefan Kraft claims Ski Flying win in Oberstdorf
Mar 19, 2022·Ski Jumping
Austria's Stefan Kraft won the first of two Ski Flying competitions in Oberstdorf (GER) on Saturday. On the Heini-Klopfer-hill, the 28-year-old posted jumps of 232 m and 207 m and finished ahead of the two Slovenes Ziga Jelar and Timi Zajc.
It was the 25th World Cup win for Kraft, who is now tied for ninth in the all-time ranking with his compatriot Andreas Felder. Stefan Kraft has now already won three times on the Ski Flying hill in Oberstdorf. "My first jump today was extremely good, with the second one it got close again in the end. Oberstdorf is a magical place for me, I always really enjoy coming here and I really like this Ski Flying hill", Kraft said.
Slovenia's Ziga Jelar achieved the second World Cup podium of his career today, he was also second in Lillehammer in March 2020. This afternoon he came in only 1.7 points behind the winner. "The conditions today were challenging, but the guys who came out on top today also jumped well in training. Today you needed the right conditions and a really good jump to achieve a top result. Tomorrow I just want to enjoy Ski Flying again", said Jelar, who is not only a top ski jumper in his home country of Slovenia but also a well-known musician.
Anze Lanisek was fourth, Poland's Piotr Zyla came in fifth, Ski Flying World Champion Marius Lindvik was sixth, followed by his teammate Bendik Jakobsen Heggli. Heggli is the big surprise of the weekend so far, in his only third appearance in the World Cup, the 21-year-old was seventh and finished among the world's best.
Fight for the yellow bib remains close
With three competitions left this season, the fight for the overall World Cup title remains exciting. Karl Geiger was ninth today, overall World Cup leader Ryoyu Kobayashi came in tenth. Geiger scored three points more than Kobayashi today is now 55 points behind him in the overall ranking.
"It was a lot of fun to jump here in Oberstdorf in front of the home crowd. I'm not that satisfied with my performance today, I was hoping for a better result. You simply have to jump really well in this strong field, I'll try to do better tomorrow", said Karl Geiger.
Austria's Daniel Huber crashed right after the landing of his jump in the second round. He was obviously shocked but apart from a bloody nose he didn't suffer any visible injuries. "There's good news, he isn't seriously injured, just a couple of abrasions in the face and on the forearm. We will wait until tomorrow and then we'll see if he'll be able to jump. Daniel wants to compete tomorrow", Austrian head coach Andreas Widhoelzl explained.
The team of Austria leads the Nations Cup with 5154 points, followed by Germany with 5010 points.
The second competition in Oberstdorf starts on Sunday at 4 pm CET.
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