Gregor Schlierenzauer wins
with outstanding final jump
Marinus Kraus, Gregor Schlierenzauer, Thomas
Morgenstern - FIS
Gregor Schlierenzauer won the second individual
competition this season. With an outstanding jump
on 143 m in the final the defending overall World
Cup champion moved up from 15th to first with a
total of 273.2 points. He jumped on 128.5 m in the
first round.
19-year-old Marinus Kraus of Germany surprised with
his second place today, after he was in the lead
after the first round. He achieved his first podium
result in the World Cup and with jumps on 136 m
and 133 m he missed the win by only 0.5 points.
The third place went to Schlierenzauer's teammate
Thomas Morgenstern. The three-time Olympic Champion
showed jumps on 127.5 m and 133.5 m that earned
him a total of 272.3 points.
Schlierenzauer, who caused some stir with his withdrawal
at the first World Cup event in Klingenthal, was
more than happy after today's success: "I didn't
think it would be possible to move up from 15th
to first. I had some problems in the first round,
but my second jump was very good and I also had
some luck with the conditions. For the second jump
it doesn't matter on what place you are after the
first round. You have to do a good job, jump well
and with good conditions and a very good jump you
can be on top. It was my 51st win and this makes
me proud."
Marinus Kraus was more than satisfied with his first
podium finish in the World Cup: "This was my
6th World Cup competition. I was working hard in
summer. I'm in a good shape and jumping is fun for
me right now. I was very nervous before my second
jump. But I knew that I can be on the podium if
I jump well. It's my first time in Kuusamo and I
love this hill. Tomorrow I want to do my best again
and jump far."
Thomas Morgenstern had not much to complain about
either: "After the first round the German team
was better than us. I'm satisfied with my performances
in all four jumps today, they were really good.
For me it's important to be consistent, so I'm satisfied
with the competition and the result. It's not easy
when you have to wait before your jump because of
the wind. And I was thinking about my crash here
ten years ago, but I have to trust my coaches and
the jury. Ruka is one of my favorite hills in the
World Cup and I'm looking forward to the next competition."
Norwegian Rune Velta came in fourth (269.2 points)
and was the best Scandinavian. Only 0.6 points behind
the Norwegian, the ageless veteran Noriaki Kasai
present himself in a strong shape as fifth. The
Slovenian team suffered a little setback after their
good season in Klingenthal. Only ski flying World
Champion Robert Kranjec (266.5 points) achieved
a Top 10 result as sixth. He shared this place with
Germany's Severin Freund, who was second after the
first round. Dimitry Vassiliev achieved a good result
for the Russian team as eighth.
Kamil Stoch was a bit disappointed after today's
competition. He was the best of the Polish team
as tenth. Taku Takeuchi (9th) and Daiki Ito (11th)
completed the great team performance of Japan. With
140.5 m young Norwegian Robert Johansson was the
only jumper besides Schlierenzauer to land beyond
the 140 m mark. With 119 m in the final he finished
13th.
Just like already in Klingenthal, Andreas Wellinger,
Krzysztof Biegun and Jurij Tepes achieved similar
results. But this time not on the podium, but on
the places 15, 17 and 18. Simon Ammann was 16th
and was the lone Swiss jumper in the final after
Gregor Deschwanden failed to make the cut this time.
The local heroes of Finland still have room for
improvement. Janne Ahonen could not qualify for
the final round, so only Olli Muotka and Jarkko
Maeaettae could score some World Cup points as 20th
and 26th.
The second individual competition in Kuusamo will
be held on Saturday at 5:00 pm CET.
