Ski jumping Extreme wind: Ski flying canceled after one round
The Slovenian Timi Zajc also fell. photo
© Andreas Stroh/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
One round and then it’s over: Ski flying in Planica is canceled due to the weather. The falls mark the final weekend on the huge facility.
The last team flight of the ski jumping winter was canceled after one round due to wind. The World Federation Fis initially postponed the start of the second round in Planica several times and then declared an early end. “There is no other option. The wind has increased extremely,” said national coach Stefan Horngacher on ZDF.
His team with Karl Geiger, Stephan Leyhe, Pius Paschke and Andreas Wellinger did not get past a disappointing sixth place. “We are not terribly satisfied. We hope that we can fly again tomorrow,” said the Austrian Horngacher. The victory went to the Austrians with the two top flyers Stefan Kraft and Daniel Huber. Second place went to hosts Slovenia with the fallen Timi Zajc. Norway came third.
Immediately after the end of the first round the wind picked up significantly. “It’s very turbulent. The athletes are extremely tired, you don’t have to risk pointlessly,” said Austria’s head coach Andreas Widhölzl. Even without the unpredictable wind of up to eight meters per second, falls had occurred on the huge facility in Slovenia. On Saturday, in addition to Zajc (242.5 meters), the Italian Giovanni Bresadola, who was taken away in an ambulance, was also affected.
The Finn Eetu Nousiainen suffered a torn cruciate ligament and a torn meniscus in a fall on Thursday. The individual World Cup final is on the program on Sunday (9.30 a.m./ZDF and Eurosport). The Austrian Kraft, Japan’s Ryoyu Kobayashi and Germany’s Olympic champion Wellinger have already been confirmed as the top three of the overall World Cup in that order. The ski jumping season has already ended after a competition on the normal hill in Planica on Thursday.
dpa
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