Germany’s ski jumping hopeful Andreas Wellinger is going into the final of the 72nd Four Hills Tournament from a clear outsider role.
The 28-year-old Bavarian jumped 128 meters in the qualification and took ninth place. His direct rival Ryoyu Kobayashi from Japan managed 138 meters and won the preliminary round with a clear lead. The two Austrians Stefan Kraft and Clemens Aigner landed behind him.
“The decisive thing is tomorrow anyway,” Wellinger said before qualifying. Kobayashi is 4.8 points ahead of the German in the overall ranking. The points and distances from the qualification do not count towards the overall ranking. “It’s a small, clear setback that you have to accept,” said Sven Hannawald on ARD.
Paschke, Geiger, Leyhe and Raimund also qualified
The other German jumpers also qualified. Pius Paschke (14th), Karl Geiger (17th), Stephan Leyhe (18th) and Philipp Raimund (40th) jump consistently, but have nothing to do with the absolute best in the world.
Behind Kobayashi and Wellinger, Jan Hörl and Kraft are also in the draw for overall victory before the final on Saturday (4.30 p.m./ARD and Eurosport). However, the two Austrians are already well behind the leading duo.
Shortly before Christmas, an avalanche slid into the run-out of the Paul-Außerleitner ski jump in Pongau. The landing slope and the run-out were damaged and had to be repaired in a short time. Just four days later, the organizers had fixed the problems in Bischofshofen.
