The German ski jumper Andreas Wellinger achieved second place in the qualification for the New Year’s competition in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. With 139 meters, the leader in the overall ranking of the Four Hills Tournament was only beaten by Anze Lanisek from Slovenia.
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Wellinger won the tour opener in Oberstdorf on Friday, raising hopes of the first German overall victory in more than 20 years. The last time Sven Hannawald achieved this was at the Four Hills Tournament in 2002.
“It’s extremely consistent. That’s fun,” said Wellinger about his current success. National coach Stefan Horngacher was also satisfied with the performance of his best jumper. Wellinger only had “a little problem” when landing. “We have to look at the video again. We’ll fix that for tomorrow,” said Horngacher.
All German jumpers qualified
In addition to problems with the landing, the take-off also caused unexpected difficulties: because the ski jump’s elevator was broken, the jumpers had to climb the facility on foot. Despite the active support of children from the local ski club in carrying the skis, this meant additional effort for Wellinger. When he reached the top he was “pretty blue,” said the 28-year-old.
In addition to Wellinger, the eight other German jumpers also qualified for the traditional New Year’s event, in which only men compete. The second best German was Constantin Schmid in ninth place.
The German ski jumper Andreas Wellinger achieved second place in the qualification for the New Year’s competition in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. With 139 meters, the leader in the overall ranking of the Four Hills Tournament was only beaten by Anze Lanisek from Slovenia.
Wellinger won the tour opener in Oberstdorf on Friday, raising hopes of the first German overall victory in more than 20 years. The last time Sven Hannawald achieved this was at the Four Hills Tournament in 2002.
“It’s extremely consistent. That’s fun,” said Wellinger about his current success. National coach Stefan Horngacher was also satisfied with the performance of his best jumper. Wellinger only had “a little problem” when landing. “We have to look at the video again. We’ll fix that for tomorrow,” said Horngacher.
