World Cup in Lahti
Wellinger jumps to second place in Lahti and is catching up
Andreas Wellinger moved closer to first place again in the overall World Cup. photo
© Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/dpa/archive image
Wellinger is also the best German ski jumper in Lahti. The leader in the overall World Cup, on the other hand, is eliminated after just one jump. A 51-year-old also attracts particular attention.
Ski jumper Andreas Wellinger has in Finland Lahti took second place and moved closer to first place in the overall World Cup. The 28-year-old jumped 129.5 and 126.5 meters and scored 80 points. “The second jump in particular was extremely good,” said Wellinger on ZDF and was happy.
Overall leader Stefan Kraft from Austria was completely unexpectedly eliminated after the first round due to changeable wind conditions and did not receive a single point. The Japanese Ryoyu Kobayashi, who was second in the season standings, ended up in third place. Wellinger is now 288 points behind Kraft and 79 behind Kobayashi. For a win you get 100 points, the 30th gets another point.
Lovro Kos from Slovenia secured the day’s victory. The second best German was Stephan Leyhe in eleventh place. Long-time top performer Karl Geiger continues to search for his form. The Oberstdorfer only jumped to 27th place.
572nd World Cup start for 51 year old Kasai
The Japanese ski jumping legend Noriaki Kasai attracted particular attention. The 51-year-old competed in a World Cup in Europe for the first time since 2019. At that time he was 33rd in Klingenthal, this time he came 38th.
“I’m overjoyed to be able to be there again at 51. This is the best thing that could have happened to me,” he had previously told ZDF. He said with a smile about his compatriot and Four Hills Tournament winner Kobayashi: “Maybe I just taught him too much.” For Kasai it was the 572nd World Cup start of his career. In 1988 he jumped in the World Cup for the first time. Wellinger was not yet born at that time.