Wisła GP double for Nakamura, wins for Klinec and Vodan

Naoki Nakamura was in a class of his own on the first weekend of Ski Jumping’s Summer Grand Prix in Wisła (POL).

The Japanese held off Marco Wörgötter (AUT) to take victory on Saturday, and produced the two best jumps on Sunday to secure a double after a previous best of second in Rasnov (ROU) last September.

All the action took place on the Large Hill at Wisła with Nakamura enjoying the camaraderie among the athletes. “Before the competition, almost everyone wished each other good luck and gave high-fives,” he said. “That's something I really appreciate. We're competitors, but at the same time we're like one big family.

“I'm really happy with this weekend. It was a big challenge for me because I came here in very good shape, but sometimes that also brings extra pressure, and I put too much of it on myself during competitions. Today, I stayed relaxed and focused on my jumps rather than the result, and that made the difference.”

Ema Klinec was a clear winner of Saturday’s women’s competition, but could only manage fifth on Sunday as her fellow Slovenian, double Olympic gold medalist Nika Vodan, topped the scoresheets. Silje Opseth (NOR) was the only woman to make the podium on both days, finishing second on Saturday and third on Sunday.

Nakamura breaks Grand Prix duck in style

Naoki Nakamura had his best World Cup campaign last season with two podium finishes after the turn of the year, and the 29-year-old continued that form into the Grand Prix opener.

On Saturday, a first-round jump of 129.0m with exceptional style marks left him with an advantage of more than seven points over Marco Wörgötter. The field flew further in round two with Nakamura going out to a massive 135.0m. He was unable to land it as well as his first effort, scoring less than his Austrian rival, but still managed to take the win by 5.7 points. Swiss veteran Gregor Deschwanden held on to his third place from round one.

Kaimar Vagul (EST) produced the longest jump of the weekend on Sunday with a round-one leap of 136.0m. That left him the teenager in second place with 135.0 points behind Nakamura (135.9) who had superior style marks and significant comparative wind and gate compensation on his jump of 128.5m.

The pair were a long way clear of the rest, but Vagul could not repeat his earlier heroics in the final round. He went out to 131.0m and scored 125.5 points to guarantee him second place having never previously finished in the top 10 of a Grand Prix or World Cup event.

With the pressure off to some extent, Nakamura then had the best jump of the weekend in scoring terms, earning 137.0 points for a leap of 133.0m. He beat Vagul by 12.4 points with Rok Oblak (SLO) - also making his Grand Prix top 10 debut - six points further back in third ahead of Deschwanden.

"The competition was perfect for me,” beamed Vagul. “It couldn't have gone any better. I think I made two really good jumps, and afterwards I was full of adrenaline. I was shaking all over. Before my second jump, I just stood at the top of the hill, trying to enjoy the moment, embrace the pressure and stay calm.

“This result gives me a huge confidence boost for the upcoming competitions, but I want to stay calm, not overthink it, and just keep doing my job."

Slovenian women on top yet again in Wisła

Just over 12 months ago in Wisła, Nika Prevc won both events. With Prevc not competing, two other Slovenians ascended to the top of the podium.

On Saturday, Ema Klinec dominated proceedings with two superb leaps. She jumped 127.5m in round one for a score of 118.1, 2.4 points ahead of Silje Opseth whose landing let her down as she sailed out to 129.5m.

In round two, Klinec’s jump of 127.0m yielded 109.3 - again the best of the field thanks to fine style marks - for a victory margin of 16.3 points over the Norwegian. Josephine Pagnier (FRA) took third.

Nika Vodan finished fourth on Saturday, but raised her level the following day. An opening effort of 129.5m earned her a huge score of 127.3 and a lead of over 10 points over her rivals.

Opseth lay seventh after round one but moved up the leaderboard, as did Yuki Ito (JPN) who was tied for fifth. The Japanese - who announced in May that she will retire at the end of the season - had the best jump of the final round, but Vodan had more than enough in hand to win by 7.8 points with Opseth securing back-to-back podium finishes. The result means Vodan leads the overall Grand Prix standings.

Pagnier slipped from third to fourth while round one runner-up Eirin Marie Kvandal (NOR) finished seventh.

"Yesterday, I made a big mistake in my first jump so I wasn't satisfied with my performance,” admitted Vodan afterwards. “But I was happy with my second jump, and I knew it put me in a good position for today.

“Honestly, I don't know exactly how, but I managed to make three really good jumps today, and I'm very happy with that. It shows me that I'm on the right track."

Ito said, “Overall, I felt my form was good, although the wind conditions kept changing. Today I focused entirely on my jumping technique, and I'm satisfied with my performance.

“This was my last Summer Grand Prix competition in Wisła, so I was really happy to compete once again in front of the passionate Ski Jumping fans in Poland. The only major title I'm missing is a gold medal at the World Championships, so that's my main goal. We also have Ski Flying competitions this season, and I'm looking forward to flying farther and farther."

The second stop of this year’s Grand Prix is next weekend in Courchevel (FRA) with four Large Hill competitions across August 8-9.