Pinkelnig produces 'awesome' Villach victory
Jan 06, 2025·Ski Jumping
Four-time World championship medalist Eva Pinkelnig (AUT) delighted home fans in Austria by claiming a dramatic victory in the second Villach World Cup of the 2024/25 season.
The 36-year-old, had recorded only one individual top-three placing during the current campaign, with third in Garmisch-Partenkirchen on New Year’s Eve, heading into Monday’s race.
Pinkelnig was second after the opening round, behind Two Nights Tour champion Nika Prevc (SLO) who was expected to retain that lead in the final round.
However, the Austrian delivered an astounding 97m jump to attain an overall points total of 244.1, which would ensure victory.
Olympic silver medalist Katharina Schmid (GER) recovered from a challenging first round, after which she had placed seventh, to claim second (237.0), which also extended her overall World Cup advantage to 66 points.
2023/24 Crystal Globe winner Prevc had been well-placed to narrow that gap, but would ultimately finish third (236.7).
Pinkelnig has also climbed from seventh to fourth in the standings following the 16th individual World Cup victory of her career.
“It’s amazing,” she told FIS after the race on the HS98 hill in the Villach Alpen Arena.
“I had a couple of tough weeks mental-wise and I lost some battles in the brain, but I had some good talks to my sport psychologist out there and we made a plan and it worked.
The Austrian continued; “I just had fun out there on the hill and it’s amazing to have another win at home.”
Villach World Cup 2 – How it played out:
59 athletes took to the hill for qualification, with the top 40 making it through to the first round. Only the top 30 after this stage would return for a further, final, jump.
Annika Belshaw (USA) was the first to leap from the hill and made an impressive start with 90m, a distance only five athletes had surpassed during the qualifying phase.
Her score of 105.2 ensured she would not just temporarily go top of the standings and a further four athletes had jumped before 18-year-old Youth Olympic champion Taja Bodlaj (SLO) recorded 91m / 106.6pts.
Nozomi Maruyama (JPN) missed the Beijing 2022 Games due to a knee ligament injury and has gone nearly two years without a podium finish, but a jump of 94m ranked her among the top-performers in the opening round.
European Games champion, Jacqueline Seifriedsberger had claimed third place in the first Villach World Cup on Sunday, but managed just 14th in qualification for race two.
88.5m, was a significant improvement 80m earlier in the day, but it was unlikely to be enough to see her contend for a second podium finish in her homeland.
There was still a chance of host-nation success though.
Eva Pinkelnig (AUT) won a double in the 2022/23 season, when the hill appeared in the women’s World Cup programme for the first time and a scream of “COME ON” followed the discovery her jump of 95.5m had scored 120.8 points.
Team-mate Lisa Eder (AUT), who was fourth on Sunday, nestled in just behind her with 120.4.
A gate change, to reflect changes in the wind speed, combined with greater style marks, meant Prevc’s 90.5m / 121.2pts would be enough to top the standings.
She shrugged when the score was revealed, knowing her job was only half complete, but the 19-year-old soon learned the path to victory may have been easier than previously anticipated, with Schmid (91.5m / 116.4pts) only enough for seventh.
Agnes Reisch (GER) suffered a crash in the first World Cup 24 hours earlier and had request to jump from lower gates than her opponents later on Sunday as she looked to rebuild her confidence.
The 2016 Youth Olympic silver medallist finally found both that, and the form which has illuded her for much of the season, with a stunning 95.5m.
The struggles of reigning World champion Alexandria Loutitt (CAN) would continue though, with the 20-year-old, who is without a World Cup podium finish this season, recording her lowest placement of the 2024/25 campaign, with 24th
A second-round jump of 96m from Seifriedsberger would not be enough for a second-successive top-three finish, but would see her rise four places to rank eighth.
Schmid needed a significant score to rise into contention herself and a shake of the head shortly after landing suggested the German thought 90m and a total of 237.0 was unlikely to be enough.
Selina Freitag (GER) has experienced a somewhat inconsistent season, having begun strongly with two podium finishes in Lillehammer (NOR), but struggled to repeat that feat.
A wind assisted 96.5m in the opening round had given her hope, but she would ultimately finish fifth, with Anna Odine Stroem (NOR) edging in ahead of her to finish fourth.
Pinkelnig celebrated wildly, punching both the air and her chest, after landing an incredible 97m, which gave her the overall score of 244.1 and guaranteed the Austrian at least second.
It would soon be confirmed as an even better result.
Prevc, for the second time in as many days, was unable to convert a first round lead into a second round victory, but this time placed third, with Schmid attaining a surprise runner-up position.
FIS Ski Jumping World Cup – next up:
Sapporo (JPN) – HS134
17.01.2025 – 09:00 – Start Qualification – QUA Women's LH
18.01.2025 – 16:00 – Competition start – WC Women's LH
19.01.2026 – 09:00 – Start Qualification – QUA Women's LH
19.01.2026 – 11:00 – Competition start – WC Women's LH
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