Sixth win in a row for Maren Lundby
Feb 08, 2019·Ski Jumping
Maren Lundby prolonged her winning streak. The Olympic champion took her sixth win in a row, the 20th of her career, in the first of three competitions in Ljubno (SLO). The second and third place in today's event went to Sara Takanashi of Japan and Ursa Bogataj of Slovenia.
Maren Lundby is simply unbeatable at the moment. With two jumps of 90.5 m, the 24-year-old overall World Cup winner of last season claimed the win on the HS 94 in Ljubno. "I am very happy about today’s win, I did not expect it after yesterday’s jumps. We made a good plan for today and it seems to have worked out just fine." Lundby especially praised the atmosphere in Ljubno: "The atmosphere at the hill in Ljubno is always special, the best one in the World Cup. I think tomorrow’s team event will be great, many nations shall be fighting for top spots."
Former serial winner Sara Takanashi is also getting back on track again. She was completely satisfied with her second place in today's competition: "I am very happy to be on the podium again, especially because yesterday I was not jumping that well in training and qualification. Today my jumping was much better, also technically. I am very satisfied with today’s competition. I am really looking forward to tomorrow’s team event."
To the delight of the many spectators, Ursa Bogataj came in third today. This was the first podium result in the World Cup for the 24-year-old. "I am very happy about today’s result, especially as this is my very first World Cup podium. To be honest I did not expect it. It makes it even more special that I managed to get my first ever podium in Ljubno, in front of a home crowd. It is great to see your family supporting you at the hill. It is just unbelievable. As for tomorrow’s team event, if all of us jump well we might be able to fight for the podium", Bogataj said after her successful day at work.
Katharina Althaus was fourth, followed by local hero Nika Kriznar. In absence of Daniela Iraschko-Stolz, Eva Pinkelnig was the best Austrian in seventh, Chiara Hoelzl came in eleventh. Poland's Kamila Karpiel and Anna Shpyneva of Russia finished 30th and 17th and scored their first World Cup points.
Lundby further extended her lead in the overall World Cup with today's result. With 1088 points, Lundby now has a lead of 171 points over second-placed Katharina Althaus (917 points). Sara Takanashi is third with 706 points.
The second competition in Ljubno, the team event, starts on Saturday at 2 pm CET.
