Midtskogen and Embacher clinch the Junior World Champion titles in Lake Placid

Norway's Ingvild Synnoeve Midtskogen and Austria's Stephan Embacher reached gold medals at the FIS Junior World Ski Championships in Lake Placid, USA. The local hero Tate Frantz achieved Silver, missing the win by only 0.4 points.

Midtskogen entered the women's competition as a top contender following her great jumps in training and consistent World Cup results. She set a solid foundation for a win already in the first jump on 96 meters. 

The final round took a dramatic turn when Kjersti Graesli, who was in second place at the halfway point, fell and injured her knee. 

Midtskogen was waiting a couple of minutes for her final attempt. The 17-year-old Norwegian athlete could handle the pressure and confirmed her impressive performance by reaching 97 meters. She clearly sealed the Gold with an advantage of 32 points over her teammate, Ingrid Laate, who moved up from fifth place in the second round.

"It means a lot to me. It was my goal this season," Midtskogen said.

The Norwegians took the top two places. The bronze went to Slovenia's Taja Bodlaj, who finished just ahead of the defending champion and her teammate Tina Erzar.

In the afternoon, fans watched an exciting spectacle. The defending champion Stephan Embacher and the local hero Tate Frantz played the main roles. 

The American, who was born in Lake Placid and started his ski jumping career in the same venue where the Championships are held, dominated all the training rounds ahead of the event. And he took the lead with his 95.5-meter jump. Embacher was 0.3 points behind him. 

The Austrian youngster put Frantz under pressure with a strong jump on 96 meters in the final. Due to the wind, Tate had to wait a few minutes for his attempt like Stefan Kraft (AUT) in the last competition of the Four Hills Tournament.

Frantz went further than anyone else as he landed at 98.5 meters, but it was not enough to conquer Embacher, who successfully defended his title as the second athlete ever. Only Janne Ahonen (FIN) could win the men's FIS Junior World Ski Championships year after year.

Bronze went to Austria's Simon Steinberger.

"I wasn't expecting it, but I take it, and I'm super happy," Embacher added.

Frantz appeared as the top contender but took Silver with a smile and pride. 

"I'm really happy coming out with a medal. Of course, I had pretty good expectations after the training and the first round, but it was a long wait, that's the way it ended up. It's nothing to complain about. Still coming out with the silver medal right here at home. It was an awesome day at my home hill," he said.

The 19-year-old American took his first steps as a ski jumper next to the hill where the athletes compete at the Junior Worlds. He practiced for years to reach his first individual medal in a special place. 

"Just looking at the 20-meter hill right to the side of the podium and thinking that just like 10 years ago I was starting out the sport there, and now I'm on a World Championship podium is pretty awesome," he claimed.

Team events at the FIS Junior World Ski Championships take place on Friday, and the mixed team competition on Sunday.