SKI JUMPING WORLD CUP. Once again the Austrians put on a great show at a ski flying event. At the first competition of the World Cup weekend in Planica three jumpers from Austria were on the podium. Gregor Schlierenzauer proved again that he is the best ski flyer. He won with jumps on 219 m and 226 m (450.9 points) ahead of Thomas Morgenstern (448.1 points), who was in the lead after the first round. Martin Koch was third with 438.8 points. He moved up from fifth to third in the final.

"It's always a special feeling here in Planica, although it's hard to jump on a hill like this at the end of the season. I'm very proud about the result and I'm looking forward to the next days", said Schlierenzauer.

"This was great for me. I never thought that I could be on the podium in Planica. We all did a great job and now we have to celebrate", told Morgenstern. And Martin Koch added that "the third place is wonderful for me. And now I'm looking forward to the team competition and the final on Sunday."

Finland's Matti Hautamaeki, who regularly achieves top results in ski flying, narrowly missed the podium. With 429.0 points he came in fourth.

Kranjec falls

Local hero Robert Kranjec was fourth after the first round and aimed for the podium in front of his home crowd. But in the final round he was not stable in the air and could not avoid a fall. At least he didn't suffer serious injuries. At the end the Slovene who won the qualification was only 15th. Best athlete of head coach Matjaz Zupan was Jurij Tepes as 12th.

Best Norwegian was Anders Bardal, who showed a great jump on 224.5 m in the final and moved up a couple of places. Simon Ammann from Switzerland was sixth, ahead of the best Pole, Kamil Stoch. Adam Malysz might not be in his best shape anymore towards the end of his career. He finished eighth. The Top 10 were completed by the two Norwegians Johan Remen Evensen and Bjoern Einar Romoeren. So the team of head coach Mika Kojonkoski will be the biggest rival of the Austrians in the team competition.

Schmitt did not start

Andrea Morassi, usually known to be a good ski flyer, did not qualify for the second round. Also Russian Pavel Karelin did not score World Cup points. The competition was also disappointing for the Germans. Only Michael Neumayer and Severin Freund reached the final  and Freund was their best as 17th. Martin Schmitt decided not the compete because the had problems with his flight system. He will also not take part in the team competition.

The only Japanese, Daiki Ito, finished 13th. Best Czech was Jan Matura as 23rd. At least three of their jumpers made the cut for the second round even if it was not enough for a top result.

With only one more competition to go, Schlierenzauer now has the highest chances to win the ski flying World Cup. With 425 points he has a good lead ahead of Koch (361 points) and Morgenstern (342 points).

FISskijumping.com
18.03.2011 17:12