Ski jumper Andreas Wellinger took third place in the New Year’s competition at the Four Hills Tournament. The 28-year-old Olympic champion jumped 138 and 137.5 meters in Garmisch-Partenkirchen on Monday and, as the overall leader, maintained his very good chances of Germany’s first overall victory since Sven Hannawald in 2002.
The Slovenian Anze Lanisek secured the day’s victory after jumps of 136 and 137 meters. Ryoyu Kobayashi (137 and 135.5 meters) from Japan and Wellinger completed the podium in front of 21,000 spectators, which, according to the organizers, was a record for a New Year’s event. Top favorite Stefan Kraft from Austria lost a further 14.8 points to Wellinger, who was once again strong.
Before the remaining two stations in Innsbruck and Bischofshofen, Oberstdorf winner Wellinger is now 1.8 points ahead of his pursuer Kobayashi. The other Germans no longer play a role in the fight for overall victory. In Garmisch, Pius Paschke made it into the top ten in tenth place.
