Four Hills Tournament
Prevc wins qualification – Hoffmann injured on tour
At the last stop in Bischofshofen, ski jumper Domen Prevc is heading straight for victory in the Four Hills Tournament. The best German reports injury problems.
Ski jumping dominator Domen Prevc also won the qualification for the conclusion of the Four Hills Tournament in Bischofshofen. The 26-year-old Slovenian jumped 140 meters and won ahead of second-placed Austrian Stephan Embacher and his compatriot Jan Hörl.
Hoffmann reports knee pain
As the best German, Philipp Raimund landed in sixth place with a 135-meter jump in freezing temperatures of minus five degrees. Felix Hoffmann, who is in fifth place in the tour ranking and is therefore the strongest of national coach Stefan Horngacher’s team, ended up in eleventh place. “It was rather difficult,” said Hoffmann on ARD.
He had missed a training jump. “My knee is pinching me a bit,” explained Hoffmann. It is still unclear whether he will take a short break after the tour. “It shouldn’t be a problem for tomorrow,” said Horngacher. “He’s in some pain, but he’s managing it well.”
Also Geiger, Wellinger and Paschke there
The other three athletes from the German Ski Association also qualified for the competition. This wasn’t a given for the former guarantors of success Andreas Wellinger and Karl Geiger.
Wellinger took 23rd place with a jump of 127.5 meters. Geiger only jumped 117.5 meters, came 44th and of course was not happy with that. “It was a really difficult day for me today,” said the 32-year-old, who has already become world champion five times in his career. Pius Paschke ended up in 25th place.
Before the last act of the ski jump spectacle this Tuesday (4.30 p.m./ARD and Eurosport), Prevc leads with 41.4 points ahead of the second-placed Austrian Hörl. That’s the equivalent of around 23 meters. Hoffmann’s gap to the third-placed Austrian Embacher is around seven and a half meters.
dpa
