King Kamil triumphs for the third time – violinist on two
Stand: 06.01.2021 | Reading time: 4 minutes
Kamil Stoch superiorly secured the victory at the Four Hills Tournament
Source: AFP / CHRISTOF STACHE
Poland’s folk hero Kamil Stoch kept his nerve and secured victory in the Four Hills Tournament in Bischofshofen. Karl Geiger made it onto the podium with a very good performance.
AAt the end, his teammates carried him on their shoulders again: Kamil Stoch, Polish folk hero, one of the greatest ski jumpers of all time. He is only called “King Kamil” in his homeland and in the ski jumping world. And on this January 6th in Bischofshofen he lived up to his nickname in an astonishing way. “Winner of the Vierschanzentounree for the third time – that sounds great,” he said.
Stoch won the day ahead of Marius Lindvik (Norway). Karl Geiger landed in third place. The man from Oberstdorf, who had gambled away his chances of overall victory in Innsbruck, worked his way up to second place with a very good performance. “Karl is mentally incredibly strong. In the end, a great second place in the overall standings. Kamil was unbeatable in this form, ”said national coach Stefan Horngacher.
The 33-year-old Stoch has once again proven his extra class and strong nerves. “Congratulations to Kamil,” Geiger said with respect. “Definitely a successful ending for me personally. I’m really happy, I had to nibble on the last few days, I’ll admit that. ”Third in the overall standings was Stoch’s compatriot Dawid Kubacki.
The first round was tough
Stoch thus ensured the fourth Polish tour victory in the past five years. His touring dreams – or better: those of an entire nation crazy about ski jumping – would have almost broken before the first stop. His impressive track record is now: three touring triumphs, including one as a Grand Slam, three Olympic victories, two World Cup titles, two successes in the overall World Cup and 27 individual victories in the World Cup. In Poland he has long been a national hero.
His successes give Stoch self-confidence in crucial situations. Even before the last competition in Bischofshofen, it was clear that a lot had to happen for the veteran to give up the triumph. Eisenbichler and Geiger did not want to tick off the overall victory completely, but they no longer had high hopes. Due to Geiger’s poor performance on the Bergisel in Innsbruck, he entered the final competition in fourth, almost 14 meters behind Stoch. Eisenbichler was another five meters behind. Defending champion Kubacki went into the final in second, the Norwegian Halvor Egner Granerud in third.
Celebration in front of empty ranks: Kamil Stoch (center) cheers with Karl Geiger (left) and Dawid Kubacki
What: REUTERS
After his poor qualification, Geiger had to play in the first duel of the day and convinced with 138 m. Eisenbichler, on the other hand, landed at 120.5 m – the end in the first round. “What a mess,” he said angrily. Kubacki jumped at least 132 meters, but that wasn’t really splendid – Geiger overtook him in the overall standings. And Granerud? He came to 133 meters and also fell behind Geiger. But Stoch flew to the lead. “An extraordinary jump,” said Stefan Horngacher. 32 points ahead of the final round – almost impossible to gamble away. In the second round, Stoch made the triumph perfect.
Unimpressed by the chaos
Stoch almost never got the chance to intervene in the battle for the Golden Eagle at all. A positive corona test by his teammate Klemens Muranka shortly before qualifying in Oberstdorf had led to the entire team being excluded. After 22 turbulent hours and two further series of tests by the entire team, which turned out to be negative, they were finally allowed to compete. The okay came shortly before the first competition – and the ski jumping nation breathed a sigh of relief.
Kamil Stoch sails to his success
Source: AP / Matthias Schrader
Stoch was not impressed by the chaos and flew straight to second, then fourth in the New Year’s competition and to victory in Innsbruck. “Ski jumping as a cure for all evil,” headlined a Polish newspaper. “It’s gray and sad outside, but just turn on ski jumping on TV and it’s beautiful.” This January 6th even more.
In the 2016/17 season, Stoch won the Four Hills Tournament for the first time. The following winter he followed Sven Hannawald, who until then was the only jumper who had achieved the masterpiece of winning on all four hills. National coach for both Stoch wins: Horngacher.
“First and foremost, Kamil is a hundred percent professional. He subordinates everything to sport, even his private life, ”says Horngacher. “He’s the perfect ski jumper.” To the delight of the Poles, in whom ski jumping has been of immense importance since the times of Adam Malysz. Big footsteps for Stoch. But he fills it out.
Collaboration: ALE
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