World Cup in Lillehammer
Ski jumper Wellinger in Lillehammer second behind Kraft
Jumped onto the podium in Lillehammer: Andreas Wellinger. photo
© Geir Olsen/NTB/dpa
The German ski jumpers started the winter strong. The pattern seen last weekend is repeated on the normal hill in Lillehammer.
Olympic champion Andreas Wellinger gave the German ski jumpers their next podium place. The 28-year-old Bavarian jumped in Lillehammer 99 and 92 meters and only had to admit defeat to the Austrian Stefan Kraft in double-digit temperatures below zero.
After attempts at 104 and 92.5 meters, Kraft was once again superior to all rivals. For him, the success on the normal hill was his third victory in the third competition. Behind Kraft and Wellinger, Daniel Tschofenig from Austria completed the podium. There will be another jump on Sunday, then on the large hill.
Behind Wellinger, Karl Geiger (4th), Pius Paschke (6th) and Stephan Leyhe (9th) also achieved top placings. National coach Stefan Horngacher’s team started the winter strong. “Second place behind Kraft, more is not possible at the moment. I am very satisfied,” said Horngacher on ZDF. The previous week in Finland, Ruka Paschke, Wellinger and Leyhe each made it onto the podium once. Philipp Raimund (20th) and Martin Hamann (26th) ended up a little further back.
The dominant world-class athlete Kraft appears to be unbeatable at the moment. There are still just under four weeks until the start of the prestigious Four Hills Tournament with stops in Oberstdorf, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Innsbruck and Bischofshofen. Germany has not won overall victory in this traditional event since Sven Hannawald in 2001/02.