SKI JUMPING. Andreas Wank continued his winning streak. The 24-year-old German is riding a wave of success and the tail wind in Hakuba could not change that. He won for the third time in a row and is on his way to winning the overall title of this year's FIS GP.

Jurij Tepes, Andreas Wank and Dawid Kubacki, FIS Grand Prix Hakuba (JPN) 26.08.2012, photo: Horst Nilgen / FIS

Athletes like Swiss Gregor Deschwanden and Canadian Mackenzie Boyd-Clowed had nice head wind in the final round and showed great jumps on more than 130 m. Unfortunately the last jumpers didn't have these conditions anymore and so it was tough for some of the top athletes in the second round. But it was no problem for Wank, he jumped on 118 m and defended his lead. With 245.2 m Wank clearly won ahead of Slovene Jurij Tepes (233.0 points) and Poland's Dawid Kubacki (229.4 points).

“The second jump was really good, but not as good as I expected. My advantage is that I have a lot of strength. Of course it's better when you have headwind, but I can also jump well under tailwind. I don't really worry about the conditions. I will not compete in Almaty because I need a break. It would be nice to win the overall title in the GP, but the most important thing is to be in a good shape in winter", Wank said after his perfect weekend in Hakuba.

Kubacki - simply great in summer

Tepes was seventh after the first round, Kubacki only eleventh. With very good jumps in the final they both moved up to the podium, where Simon Ammann and Tom Hilde were after the first round. But they were not able to defy the conditions as well as Wank and finished fifth (Ammann) and tenth (Hilde).

"My second jump was really good, the wind conditions were difficult today", said Tepes. "Today was a good day for me. I made some mistakes in the first round, but in the second one I showed what I'm capable of", Kubacki told after the competition.

"Best dad in the Galaxy" - coach Emil Zografski and his son Vladimir at FIS Grand Prix Hakuba (JPN) 26.08.2012, photo: Horst Nilgen / FIS

Bulgarian Vladimir Zografski was fourth and once again showed what a great talent he is. Taku Takeuchi was the best of the Japanese as seventh. The Japanese jumpers did not have their best day today. Besides Tepes, also 22-year-old Matjaz Pungertar achieved a top result for Slovenia as sixth - the team seems to be in a better shape now than in the first competitions of the FIS GP this summer. Also the Polish team will be satisfied with Sunday's event. Besides Kubacki the only 19-year-old Bartlomiej Klusek was among the best as eighth.

Ups and downs for the French

Olli Muotka could achieve a good result and finally scored some points again for Finland. The 24-year-old was 24th. The French team experiences ups and downs. With Alexandre Mabboux and Vincent Descombes Sevoie two jumpers reached the final of the best 30, but their best was disqualified. Nicolas Mayer had a good first jump, but his skis were too long and so he was not allowed to participate in the final. But still: It's obvious that the French made a step forward, first and foremost Mayer.

Also the young Germans showed convincing performances this summer. 22-year-old Danny Queck scored points again and even finished on a very good eleventh place. Andreas Wellinger, only 16 years old, scored points as well and raises hopes for the future in the German team.

In the overall FIS GP ranking it looks very good for Wank after his three wins in a row. With 409 points he clearly leads ahead of Ammann, who scored 247 points. But Wank will not take part in the next competitions in Almaty (September 22/23). Reruhi Shimizu of Japan is third with 212.0 points. He was 12th on Sunday.

FISskijumping.com
26.08.2012 07:54