World Cup leader Tschofenig wins dramatic final in Zakopane

Daniel Tschofenig (AUT) made up for a twelve-point deficit to secure victory at the FIS Ski Jumping World Cup in Zakopane, Poland, on Sunday. It was his second win in 24 hours after he helped Austria secure first place in the team event on Saturday.

Tschofenig showed he can deliver when it matters most, as he came from behind to secure the individual win.

After the first round, everything was pointing towards a season-first World Cup victory for Anze Lanisek (SLO), who led the way at the halfway stage thanks to a magnificent first jump (169.2 points). The Slovenian had a massive 11.9-point lead over Johann Andre Forfang (NOR) and had a margin of 12,1 points over Tschofenig.

For that exact reason, Tschofenig did not expect he was still in with a chance to land on top of the podium when before heading into the second and final jump. "Twelve points are a lot", Tschofenig said. “Lanisek had a great (first) jump and I know he can perform extremely well under pressure. So, therefore, I didn’t really think I had a chance (to win)."

Lanisek lands in fourth

But things changed dramatically. Lanisek messed up his second jump as he landed in 130m to score 136.0 points. In the end, that wasn't even enough for the podium: Lanisek finished fourth.

Meanwhile, Tschofenig had performed the best jump of the second round to move to the top of the leaderboard. The World Cup leader posted a combined total of 316.7 points to finish well ahead of Norway’s Johann Andre Forfang (309.4 points), who secured his first podium finish of the season.

"It was a really good day for me", Fordang said. "I jumped better and better in the last few weeks. Standing on the podium again feels really good."

Only 0.1 points separated second and third place. Tschofenig’s teammate Jan Hoerl took third place (309.3 points), despite performing the furthest jump of the day (140m).

After the competition, Tschofenig admitted that having no expectations for a win had helped him to his fifth win of the season. "I was just free to do my stuff, to do my jump. That truly helped me to this outcome."

Tschofenig further extended his World Cup lead and now has 1056 points. It's the first time in his career he surpassed the number of 1000 points. Hoerl sits in second (976), with Pius Paschke in third (848).

Polish champion Wasek in fifth

Newly crowned Polish national champion Pawel Wasek (POL) finished in fifth (300.3), equalling his career-best result. Wasek, who was in seventh place after the first round, managed to move up two spots thanks to a strong second outing.

Austrians Michael Hayboeck (298.5) and last years Crystal Globe winner Stefan Kraft (297.4) followed in sixth and seventh.

Valentin Foubert (FRA) secured a career-best finish with a twelfth place (281.7).

Germany's Pius Paschke, who won five World Cup events so far this season, was unable to build on his earlier performances from this season and missed the final in Zakopane. Paschke finished 32nd in the first round.

"Sometimes it's hard to understand,” Paschke said about his performance. "It was actually a step in the right direction in the trial round, but the bottom line is that I never had the feeling here that I'm used to. I didn't really find a solution today and yesterday, but we'll continue next week. First and foremost, the position has to be right again", Paschke said.

Coming up…

The Men’s FIS Ski Jumping World Cup continues in Obertsdorf (GER) next week, with Ski Flying on the program. “You can expect a lot, hopefully”, Tschofenig said. “It’s a different sport almost. I have strong teammates that can fly really well, so I will try to stick with them. Maybe I can get some news from them as to what to do", he said with a smile.

While the men competed in Zakopane, Poland, this weekend, the women jump in Sapporo (JPN). Alexandria Loutitt (CAN) and Eirin Maria Kvandal (NOR) claimed their first win of the season on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.