SKI JUMPING, 4-HILLS. Gregor Schlierenzauer of Austria clearly won at the Bergisel-hill and also took the lead in the overall ranking of the 61st 4-Hills-Tournament. This also means that Anders Jacobsen, who finished seventh, will not be able to repeat the four wins of Sven Hannawald.

Gregor Schlierenzauer (AUT), photo © Tadeusz Mieszynski

Local hero Gregor Schlierenzauer was in the lead already after the first round with the longest jump of the day on 131.5 m. He captured his win at the Bergisel-hill with 123 m in the final. With the total score of 253.7 points he took the lead in the 4-Hills ranking and is now the top favorit for the overall title.

The second place went to Kamil Stoch, who won yesterday’s qualification. The Pole proved his stable shape with consistent jumps of 124.5 and 123 m and a total of 240.9 points. Runner-up after the first round, Anders Bardal, finished third. The Norwegian landed at 125 m and 120 m and reached 235.4 points.

photo © Tadeusz Mieszynski

Severin Freund came in fourth, just one point behind Bardal. His total of 234.4 points made him one of the candidates for the podium of the 61st 4-Hills-Tournament. “The competition in Garmisch-Partenkirchen was really bad for me. What happened today, was really positive”, told the highest ranked German. Also his teammates did well at the Bergisel. Richard Freitag (11th), Martin Schmitt (12th) and Michael Neumayer, who moved up from the 24th to 13th place with 124 m, completed the good team performance of Germany. Their youngest, Andreas Wellinger, was 21st (220.1 points).

Anders Jacobsen, who was unbeatable in Oberstdorf and Garmisch-Partenkirchen, will not repeat Hannawald’s Grand Slam at the 4-Hills-Tournament. The Norwegian was 3rd after the first round, but could not make a good jump in the final. The 28-year old finished 7th with a total score of 230.5 points and lost the lead in the Tournament’s overall. “I was very late at the take-off. Of course, I am disappointed. I had really big chance today”, explained Jacobsen.

photo © Sarah Braunias

Jaka Hvala, ninth in the Tournament’s overall after the events in Oberstdorf and Garmisch-Partenkirchen, was not able to defend this place. The Youngster of Slovenia came in 35th after a jump on 116.5 m. Despite his bad luck, it was a good day for the team of Goran Janus. With jumps on 124 m and 121.5 m (232.3 points) Peter Prevc finished fifth. “I like this hill, it is different. The atmosphere here was great, just like every year.”, said the 21-year old. Robert Kranjec, who had problems in the previous event, showed some improvement with his 14th place.

Lukas Hlava was the big surprise of today’s competition. With his 122.5 m in the second round and a total of 227.9 points, the Czech could move up from 22nd place to the Top 10. He was followed by Maciej Kot (121.5 m and 119 m; 226.7 points), who proved the good shape of the Polish team.

photo © Tadeusz Mieszynski

Former 4-Hills-Tournament winners Thomas Morgenstern (122m and 116.5 m; 220.8 points) and Wolfgang Loitzl (122 m and 116.5 m; 220.8 points) did not do as well as they would have wanted. Also Andreas Kofler could not defend his 6th place after the first round with a jump on 112.5 m. He finished 24th with a total of 217.3 points. Martin Koch and Michael Hayboeck failed to make the cut in the two previous event of the Tournament. In front of thousands spectators both showed a much better performance and came in 10th (Koch) and 15th (Hayboeck).

One of the candidates for the overall title, Dimitry Vassiliev, lost many points to his opponents with his short final jump. The Russian veteran landed at 106 m and finished 30th, behind his teammate, Denis Kornilov. The 33-year-old will have to make his best jumps in Bischofshofen, if he dreams about moving up from tenth place.

The Japanese jumpers could not present themselves in the good shape from the season’s start. Only Taku Takeuchi reached the final round. Newcomer Reruhi Shimizu (31st), Noriaki Kasai (34th), Yuta Watase (43rd) and Daiki Ito (45th) lost their K.O. duels and also could not qualify as one of the "Lucky Losers".

Gregor Schlierenzauer (AUT), photo © Sarah Braunias

Gregor Schlierenzauer (827.5 points) is now the top favorite for the overall title before the final even in Bischofshofen. He leads ahead of two Norwegians - Anders Jacobsen (816.8 points) and Tom Hilde (778.3 points), followed by Severin Freund (777.1 points). Also Anders Bardal with a total of 769.5 points and Kamil Stoch (767.0 points) of Poland have a good chance to achieve a podium result at the 61st 4-Hills-Tournament.

FISskijumping.com
04.01.2013 15:45