A 16-year-old jumper from Austria
if third after the first round. It's his first appearance
in the World Cup. The great Adam Malysz, a four-time
World Champion, three-time overall World Cup winner,
4-Hills-Tournament winner, is in the lead. But the
16-year-old does not care. He shows a 137 m jump,
farther than the competition, and celebrates his
first ever victory in the World Cup.
This 16-year-old shooting star is Gregor Schlierenzauer
and almost exactly three years ago he won his first
World Cup competition - and that in Lillehammer.
This was Schlierenzauer's first podium finish. Until
now he competed in 72 World Cup events and stood
on the podium 41 times. He won 24 competitions.
Many jumpers stake out claims
And now they jump in Lillehammer, host city of the
Olympics 1994, again. And the highflyer of last
season is also one of the high favorites now, even
if he came to Norway after a little dampener in
Kuusamo. There the now 19-year-old who is used to
success had a hard time dealing with the difficult
conditions. In Lillehammer it's time to make amends
for that. A 19th place is just not a rank for Schlierenzauer.
But maybe winning this year won't be as easy for
the Austrian as it was last season. Many jumpers
stake out claims. There's Simon Ammann, who already
won in Lillehammer. Ammann has not won in the World
Cup in 2009. That's something that the Swiss would
like to change already in Lillehammer.
Competition from all nations
For Schlierenzauer there's also competition in his
own team. In Kuusamo Wolfgang Loitzl presented himself
as strong as last season - he has to be reckoned
with. And of course there are the Norwegians, you
jump in front of their home crowed and returned
back home from Kuusamo with a boost. Because with
Bjoern Einar Romoeren one of them won in Kuusamo.
And yes, even the Germans have hopes again for the
place on top of the podium. Pascal Bodmer is the
new hope of the German team. But also Michael Uhrmann,
fourth in Kuusamo, is back in the world class.
But there are more who want to have a say in that
matter. The Japanese had three athletes in the Top
10 in Kuusamo and showed that their performances
in the FIS GP this summer were not just a fleeting
star. And there are also the Finns, the Poles and
the Russians, who want to make amends for their
bad results in Kuusamo.
The competitions that could not take place in Trondheim
will be held in Lillehammer. Due the unusual warm
temperatures and a torn snow-net at the hill the
facility in Trondheim could not be prepared for
competitions.
