Norway dominates Willingen World Cup Mixed Team contest
Jan 31, 2025·Ski Jumping
Norway’s four-strong Mixed Team line-up delivered a series of masterclass performances to secure a dominant FIS Ski Jumping World Cup Mixed Team victory, in Willingen (GER).
The foursome, which consisted of Thea Minyan Bjoerseth, Kristoffer Eriksen Sundal, Eirin Maria Kvandal and Johann Andre Forgang, held a commanding lead of 31.3 points after the first round.
They further extended that, to 39.4 pts, in the second stage, to claim the win with a combined total of 1070.8, from their eight jumps on the HS147 Mühlenkopfschanze hill.
Austria (1031.4) was second, with Germany (988.8), cheered on by 7,000 delighted supporters, claiming third.
Anze Lanisek (SLO) achieved the highest-scoring effort of the contest, 149.4pts, whilst Bjoerseth (NOR) recorded the furthest jump of the day in competition, with 145m in round one.
“I’m very happy with the first run,” Bjoerseth told FIS after Norway’s victory. “I think we all did a great job, everyone showed good jumps and together that was a very good performance.”
Germany won the first Mixed Team event of the season, on the opening weekend in Lillehammer (NOR), with Norway second and Austria third, but after the latest results Austria now leads the combined World Cup Nations Cup standings ahead of Germany and Norway.
How it worked: Willingen World Cup:
For those unfamiliar with the format of the mixed team event, or in need of a quick reminder, the contest sees four-strong national line-ups, consisting of two athletes per gender, take to the hill for a series of jumps.
In the first round each athlete will jump once, with their scores combined to form an initial overall ranking.
The top-eight teams progress to the second and final round, where athletes again jump once each, with their scores added to those first round one to decide the overall standings.
Germany won the season-opening Mixed Team event in Lillehammer (NOR), ahead of Norway and Austria.
It marked the start of what was to be a strong run for the German athletes, with Pius Paschke and Katharina Schmid in particular excelling during the opening contests.
How it played out: Willingen World Cup:
Slovenia, who were fourth in Lillehammer (NOR) at the start of the season, were seen as strong team medal contenders in Willingen given the strength they possessed in their line-up.
Timi Zajc claimed victory last weekend in Oberstdorf, whilst Nika Prevc leads the women’s race for the seasonal Crystal Globe title and Anze Lanisek, as well as Ema Klinec, have regularly achieved podium places in recent campaigns.
However, despite an impressive start by Klinec, who recorded the second furthest jump of the round with 140.5m, Slovenia’s bid for honours was soon over after team-mate Zajc was disqualified for a suit violation.
On the team fought though, and despite losing a significant number of points due to Zajc’s score removal the other three athletes still secured enough to place Slovenia in the top-eight and thus ensured all four would return for the second round.
That extra time from the hill could be crucial when it comes to adapting to changeable conditions during the rest of the World Cup weekend.
Norway, who took the lead through Bjoerseth’s brilliance, retained top-spot on the overall rankings table throughout each of the subsequent rounds and in truth there was little movement between other nations in the standings.
She and Kvandal were particularly impressive, although Johann Andre Forfang, who set the hill record of 155.5m last season, is also likely to be seeking further podium places over the weekend after placing twice three times in a row during January.
"It's a great feeling because we have been working hard as a team and we're really happy to have a team that's performing well, it's awesome," said Forfang.
"This is my favourite hill in the circuit and my jumping has been getting better and better so I have hopes for the competition (on Saturday and Sunday)."
Germany’s line-up of Katharina Schmid, Philipp Raimund, Selina Freitag and Andreas Wellinger briefly exchanged positions with Austria, but would ultimately settled for third.
All four Austrian athletes will likely be targeting individual successes over the weekend, with Lisa Eder, Jan Hoerl, Jacqueline Seifriedsberger and Daniel Tschofenig all producing strong showings in what were often challenging conditions in Willingen.
Japan will be encouraged by their fourth-place finish, with former champions Sara Takanashi and Ryoyu Kobayashi showing improved form ahead of their individual contests on Saturday.
FIS Ski Jumping World Cup Willingen (GER):
1 February
11.00 Start Qualification Women’s LH
12.00 Competition Start Women’s LH
14.30 Start Qualification Men’s LH
16.00 Competition Start Men’s LH
2 February
14.30 Start Qualification Men’s LH
16.00 Competition Start Men’s LH
* All listings are in Central European Time (CET) and are subject to change.
Willingen World Cup Facts & Figures
The first ski jumping hill on the Mühlenkopf mountain was built a century ago, with the ceremonial opening taking place a year later, in 1926. The large hill expansion took place in 1951 and the venue has twice undergone significant renovations in the years since – 2000 and 2013.
Willingen has hosted FIS Ski Jumping World Cup events since the 1994/95 season and after initially appearing on a biennial basis, it is now a permanent annual fixture.
The venue, in Willingen, which is part of the German state of Hessen, has a HS147 size hill, with a K-point of 130, whilst the maximum capacity is 23,500 spectators.
Last season Jacqueline Seifriedsberger (AUT) and Silje Opseth (NOR) claimed respective victories in the women’s World Cup events.
Last season Johann Andre Forfang (NOR) and Andreas Wellinger (GER) claimed respective victories in the men’s World Cup events.
The official hill record was set by Johann Andre Forfang (NOR) during last year’s first World Cup event, when he landed a colossal 155.5m jump.
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