Ski Flying World Championships at Kulm: Timi Zajc leads at half-time
Jan 26, 2024·Ski Jumping
Timi Zajc from Slovenia is in the lead after the first day of competition at the 2024 FIS Ski Flying World Championships on Kulm (AUT).
In the first two of a total of four competition rounds, Zajc managed flights of 228.5 and 227 meters (435.8 points) on the HS 235 meter hill at Kulm.
This puts the double World Champion from Planica in the lead ahead of Austria's Stefan Kraft and Norway's Johann Andre Forfang. Andreas Wellinger (GER) is in a promising fourth place.
Zajc delivered an outstanding performance in the first two rounds of the Ski Flying World Championships at Kulm. Zajc's flying show came as no surprise, as the three-time World Cup winner had already dominated the training early on Friday morning.
The 23-year-old scored the highest number of points in both rounds and thus secured a lead of 12.3 points over the second-placed top favorite Stefan Kraft from Austria.
Johann Andre Forfang, the best Norwegian, finished 4.8 points behind Kraft and Andreas Wellinger was only 0.5 points behind Forfang in fourth place, putting him in an excellent starting position for the third and fourth rounds, which will take place on Saturday.
Lovro Kos (SLO) took 5th place in the daily ranking ahead of the surprise of the day: former champion Piotr Zyla from Poland finished 6th and, together with his team-mate Aleksander Zniszczol in 9th place, provided a sign of life for the team from Poland.
Finland's Niko Kytosaho also put in a very strong performance in 7th place and Robin Pedersen, who joined the Norwegian team late on, also impressed in 11th place. Co-favorite Ryoyu Kobayashi had to be satisfied with 13th place.
In 23rd place, the 18-year-old American Tate Frantz caused a stir among the US team and the fans at his first ski flying event.
Results of the Kulm Ski Flying World Championships after two of four rounds
Rounds three and four start on Saturday at 14:00. After the fourth round, the new Ski Flying World Champion will be crowned.
The team competition will follow on Sunday.
