Pinkelnig takes his eleventh World Cup victory in Sapporo

2024-01-13 10:20:55

Defending World Cup champion Eva Pinkelnig celebrated her eleventh World Cup victory on Saturday in ski jumping in Sapporo, which was partly disrupted by heavy snowfall. The Vorarlberg native won on the large hill with 195.7 points and jumps of 115.5 and 119.5 m, 2.4 points ahead of the Finn Jenny Rautionaho and 3.2 points ahead of Eirin Maria Kvandal (NOR). For Pinkelnig, who only joined at the end of December, it was the second win of the season following Oberstdorf.

Season dominator Nika Prevc, who had led following the first round, completely botched her final jump. The Slovenian was passed through to tenth place following the 96 m jump. Pinkelnig and Kvandal were ex aequo second following the first round.

“I’m super happy. The year is so much better than I thought it would be. We took a break to look following our health. The fact that I’m brave enough to pull through well in difficult conditions is super cool,” said Pinkelnig happily following her ninth podium finish in a row on Japanese soil.

“I like it in Japan, I celebrated my first World Cup victory there. The fact that I can win once more in Sapporo is incredible.” Especially in very difficult conditions. “The ski jump is very unique and has its own rhythm. Today you mightn’t see anything at all. The snow remained pecked everywhere. During the heavy snowfall we had people who cleaned our shoes,” reported Pinkelnig. “I didn’t expect this victory at all. We had so many problems yesterday, sometimes too early, sometimes too late.”

Pinkelnig had missed the first four jumps due to an injury, but since her return she has been at the forefront once more: ranks 4, 1, 2, 2 and one once more are evidence of this. Austria’s Athlete of the Year 2023 has now moved back to third place in the overall ranking, 137 points behind leader Prevc.

Jacqueline Seifriedsberger was the second best ÖSV jumper in eighth place, Sara Marita Kramer was eleventh, Chiara Kreuzer was 13th with her season’s best performance and Julia Mühlbacher was 16th. Lisa Eder also scored World Cup points in 29th place. Another individual competition is on the program on Sunday.

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