winter sports
“Must not happen”: 161-meter flight employs Springer
Slovenian ski jumper Timi Zajc in action. photo
© Angelika Warmuth/dpa/archive image
The bizarre 161.5 meter flight of the Slovenian Timi Zajc keeps the ski jumping scene busy at the World Cup in Willingen.
The bizarre 161.5 meter flight of the Slovenian Timi Zajc keeps the ski jumping scene busy at the World Cup in Willingen.
Video of the jump
“Something like that shouldn’t really happen, you have to say that it’s very dangerous. I hope he’s safe. Something like that can end really badly,” criticized Germany’s top athlete Karl Geiger. With strongly changing winds, Zajc had caught a particularly large updraft and was still three to four meters in the air in the actual landing area. Although the Slovenian broke off the jump prematurely, he reached a utopian 161.5 meters and fell.
The 22-year-old pilot then gave the all-clear. “I’m fine, but I was really scared. It’s way too dangerous to compete,” said Zajc. The completely unusual Zajc flight classified the former world-class athlete Andreas Goldberger: “It’s like jumping from a five-meter board into dry land. Or you do a squat with 250 kilos.” The Japanese Yuki Ito had previously flown 154.5 meters on Friday in the mixed, which was massively influenced by the wind, and was also unable to stand the attempt.