Led by individual world champion Stefan Kraft, the red-white-red quartet with Michael Hayböck, Manuel Fettner and Jan Hörl only had to admit defeat to defending champions Slovenia on Sunday in front of 11,250 spectators. Gold was 26.5 points short of gold, Germany took bronze (-65.5). For the ÖSV Adler it was the first team flight medal in eight years.
Mixed feelings
There were mixed feelings among the Austrian high-flyers in the run-off. “Of course we are not completely satisfied, but we can be happy,” said Kraft, who achieved distances of 218.5 and 221.5 m, on ORF. “We made a few small mistakes and didn’t have the slightest bit of luck from the Slovenians in the first round. It was small things that made the difference. But we can live with silver,” emphasized the 30-year-old from Salzburg. That’s how head coach Andreas Widhölzl saw it: “It’s a bit of a shame, but we had a great World Cup. To go home with gold and silver at a home World Cup is really cool.”
Hörl “proud and super happy”
Hörl was a little more annoyed following the Bergisel winner only landed at 177 meters in the second round. “I didn’t ski well today. I haven’t been able to fly these days, that bothers me a bit,” said the Salzburg man, a little dejected. Nevertheless, he is “proud and extremely happy” regarding his first flight medal. Fettner mourned the missed home win a bit. “It hurts a bit, but the Slovenians didn’t make a mistake. Still, it would have been possible,” said the veteran.
Gold lost in the first round
Widhölzl’s protégés lost the gold medal they had hoped for in the first round, when the gap to Slovenia was already 31.9 points. The ÖSV team also won the last team medal at the Ski Flying World Championships with bronze in 2016 in Styria. Most recently, Kraft and Co. came away empty-handed three times in a row; Red-White-Red won the previous three World Cup titles in 2008, 2010 and 2012.
The Slovenians, who jumped flawlessly and consistently, managed to successfully defend their title with Lovro Kos, Peter Prevc, Domen Prevc and Timi Zajc, even in the absence of the injured top jumper Anze Lanisek.
