After a 127-5 m set in the second round, the Salzburg player only managed 104 m, which meant he only ended up in 24th place. The Tyrolean Clemens Aigner had a similar experience as he came second at the half, with a final 108.5 m only reaching 22nd place. The best Austrians were Michael Hayböck and Daniel Huber in fourth and fifth place, and the Slovenian Lovro Kos won.
After the first round it looked like a red-white-red triumph, as apart from the double lead, Hayböck also took fourth place. While the Upper Austrian held his position with 123.5 m, Aigner fell with his best World Cup result in sight. The returnee to the ÖSV World Cup team has so far been sixth in the maximum. For Kraft it was regarding his eighth World Cup victory this season, which would have equaled his personal record from the winter of 2016/17. But it turned out to be one of his worse jumps.
Most recently in Willingen, the Pongauer missed qualifying for round two in 39th place before he finished sixth the next day. The 30-year-old also has a second chance in Lake Placid on Sunday (3:15 p.m., live ORF 1). In between, there will be a super team jumping event on Saturday (11 p.m. CEST). Kos goes into this with the tailwind of his first individual World Cup victory. The 24-year-old won 0.8 points ahead of the Japanese Ryoyu Kobayashi and 1.1 points ahead of the Norwegian Marius Lindvik. Hayböck was only 3.1 points behind the winner.
“Then it rewinds you”
Huber was only 0.6 points behind his compatriot. For Salzburg, who returned to the World Cup this season, it was his best World Cup result since his only World Cup victory to date on Epiphany 2022 in Bischofshofen. Huber had already finished third in qualifying. Manuel Fettner came 15th in the competition (-15.3 points), Daniel Tschofenig (-30.3) placed between Aigner (-29.0) and Kraft (-31.9). The season dominator was the last of six Austrians, Andreas Wellinger (GER/7th) and Kobayashi made up ground in the overall World Cup.
“I’m a stupid boy,” Kraft reacted to his second jump in an ORF interview. He had familiar problems with the track once more. “Then I get a rotation forward. It was a bad jump and then bad conditions. Then it rewinds you.” The night before he had had back pain once more, but it got better with jumping. That’s why he wanted to jump in the super team competition with Michael Hayböck, who was also nominated. “So that it becomes more stable on the hill.” Huber is the replacement.
ÖSV head coach Andreas Widhölzl drew attention to the changeable wind conditions, but also did not acknowledge any good jumps from Aigner and Kraft in the second round. “One thing led to another. I didn’t expect it myself and thought that Krafti would win it confidently and easily today. It’s time to check it off.” The Tyrolean, of course, highlighted Huber’s achievement. “A great sign of life from him.”
