Prevc, who had already won the first competition in Oberstdorf with over 17 points ahead of Daniel Tschofenig, this time won with jumps of 143.5 and 141.0 m, 15.4 points ahead of Hörl. The Salzburg man had stood up to the test with 141.5 m in the first round, but only managed 131.5 m in the second jump. The Salzburg man thus relegated his young teammate Embacher (134.0 and 141.5 m) to third place by 0.6 points. For the 19-year-old, it was his second podium finish after second place in Falun in November 2025.
In the tour standings, Prevc, who won the New Year’s competition with a bigger lead than any other jumper before, is now 35 points ahead of Hörl. Embacher catapulted himself from seventh place to third. The 19-year-old is 41.5 points behind the Slovenian leader. The tour continues with the qualification for the jumping on the Bergisel in Innsbruck on Saturday (live on ORF1 from 2:10 p.m.).
Prevc cannot be beaten again
Domen Prevc was also able to confidently win the second competition of the Four Hills Tournament. The two Austrians Hörl and Embacher came in second and third.
The remaining Austrians were not able to fully match their performance in Oberstdorf. Daniel Tschofenig and Maximilian Ortner made it into the top ten in ninth and tenth respectively. Manuel Fettner came 13th, Jonas Schuster also scored World Cup points in 24th place. Stefan Kraft once again experienced a bitter New Year’s Day in Garmisch: The Salzburg man had to settle for 26th place.
Mega result, despite difficult conditions
While Kraft struggled with both jumps, Hörl was annoyed by the second attempt. “The second jump was a tough game, the conditions were difficult, but somehow I saved myself. Maybe it wasn’t entirely fair. But my jump was courageous and active, so I’m happy. The conditions were just worse than at Prevc, that has to be said,” said the Salzburg native in the ORF interview.
Despite all the frustration with the second attempt, a look at the result brought a smile to the 27-year-old’s face: “The result is mega, being on the podium with two people is great, and I’m extremely happy for Stephan (Embacher). He did a great job. With the young guys, we veterans have to stretch, but this combination is working very well at the moment. I’m staying with myself, focused and want to show my jumps at the other stations too.”
Even in third place, Embacher felt like a winner. “A cool day for me, I got two great jumps. I felt the emotions that had to come out. The performance was very casual for my current level. Overall, it’s a respectable distance from Prevc, he’ll probably be hard to break. Third overall also feels good for me. But the tour has its own rules and we’ll keep fighting and see if we annoy him,” said the teenager.
Embacher flies onto the podium
Stephan Embacher showed an excellent performance in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and took third place – the second podium finish of his young career.
ÖSV stars struggle with consistency
For defending tour champion Tschofenig, the emotional pendulum swung in the other direction again after second place in Oberstdorf. “Unfortunately the jumps weren’t good, so I can’t be surprised about the place. We have to analyze that, I don’t understand it. It’s ups and downs,” said the Carinthian. “Let’s see what happens in Innsbruck. If things go like they do here, the home advantage is of no use. For me, everything depends on the day.”
Tschofenig falls back in Garmisch
The Carinthian, who was still on the podium in Oberstdorf, had to settle for ninth place in the New Year’s competition.
Kraft once again had no sporting fireworks to offer in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, where he even missed the second round. “It wasn’t a good day on this hill, that’s part of it. I’ve experienced things like that before. I’m still looking forward to Innsbruck now. Check it off and move on, it wasn’t anything from top to bottom. I normally always feel good at Bergisel, I hope I can show that too,” said the Salzburg native, who is also hoping for a boost from the more than 21,100 fans in Innsbruck.
Grand Slam is not an issue for Prevc (yet).
Prevc is once again the clear favorite there. The world champion was also happy after his second victory on the tour in a row, his seventh win of the season and the 16th of his career. “It means a lot to me. It’s really great, I hope I can keep it up.” He didn’t want to hear much about the possible Grand Slam, i.e. winning all four competitions in one tour. “Right now I have to focus on the things that make me strong.”
Speaking of Bergisel: A prominent spectator there will be Zimi Zajc, who was previously considered a candidate for the title on the tour. The Slovenian, who was disqualified as second in Oberstdorf, once again failed the material control in terms of suit length and was given a “red card”. In other words: For Zajc, the tour is over without a result after the first two competitions.
