2023-12-17 18:43:16
Austria’s ski jumpers said goodbye to the Christmas break with a double victory on Sunday in Engelberg. Stefan Kraft managed to move from fifth place to the top in the second round, celebrating his fifth success of the season, his 35th in the World Cup. With a 142.0 m attempt, he beat his closer Salzburg compatriot Jan Hörl by 4.0 points. Halftime leader Hörl was hoping for his second individual victory. The previous day’s winner Pius Paschke (GER/+7.8) came third.
While Kraft was not favored by the wind in the first round, the wheel of fortune turned to his field in the decision. With a final jump that received five grades of 19.5, the 30-year-old scored more than ten points more than Hörl, although he didn’t disappoint with a jump of 139.0 m. “The jump felt really cool,” said Kraft. “The landing was excellent – that’s exactly how you want to complete a jump. I had a really good feeling in the air, I noticed at 50 m that it was really going there.”
After third place the day before, Kraft already has seven podium finishes in eight competitions in this still young winter. The Pongauer has increased his account of World Cup podium places to a total of 105, only three behind the Finnish record holder Janne Ahonen. This means that Kraft can catch up with and overtake the Scandinavian in this ranking at the 72nd Four Hills Tournament, which begins on December 28th with the Oberstdorf qualification. As fifth in the all-time victory ranking, Kraft is only one away from Ahonen (36 successes).
Hörl was pleased with his third podium finish this season following coming second and third respectively in the second competition in Ruka and Lillehammer. Things didn’t go well for him in Engelberg either, finishing 14th at the first attempt. “A big step has happened from yesterday to today,” said the 25-year-old. “This makes ski jumping fun once more. I would have liked to be at the top, but it hasn’t worked out yet. The Krafti was very far and very nice in the second one. But I’m super happy with second place.”
While Kraft is achieving his successes despite back pain reoccurring, Daniel Tschofenig is currently suffering from his results. While he had been disqualified the day before the competition because of a suit problem, he now only managed 21st place. “It’s time to see why I lost so much. We’re a bit at a loss on the team,” revealed the Carinthian. Kraft’s roommate Michael Hayböck fell from tenth to 17th place. “I completely missed the timing. There’s no chance of you getting to the meter.” Manuel Fettner was 19th.
In addition to Paschke, Kraft and Hörl relegated two of his compatriots, Karl Geiger (4th/+11.6) and Andreas Wellinger (5th/+16.8), to the next places, meaning that the Germans took the lead in the Nations Cup over the Austrians have held. “I hope the stadiums are over, we are really excited for the Four Hills Tournament,” said Kraft regarding the country duel with a view of the classic. For the nominated ÖSV head coach Andreas Widhölzl, the sextet Kraft, Hörl, Hayböck, Fettner, Tschofenig and Clemens Aigner. The Tyrolean comes into play instead of Daniel Huber.
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