Stefan Kraft makes it three in a row
Jan 27, 2019·Ski Jumping
Stefan Kraft also won the second World Cup competition in Sapporo. With jumps of 135 m and 128.5 m, the 25-year-old took a clear in ahead of Slovenia's Timi Zajc and local hero Ryoyu Kobayashi.
This was the 15th World Cup win for Kraft, the third in a row. Stefan Kraft was on the podium in six of the last seven individual competitions. "It was an amazing weekend for me. I love Japan now. My jumps today were even better than yesterday. It's going really well, I'm enjoying it, the hill suits me and, of course, you also need the necessary luck here. I'm extremely happy and proud that I could win three times in a row. The audience was loud when Ryoyu landed, but I was sitting on the starting bar and thought that I can do that as well. He had some bad luck in the first round, but he's in a very good shape and showed that already in the qualification", said Kraft.
Local hero Kobayashi didn't have the best conditions throughout the weekend, but he still came in third in today's event. "I'm very happy about my third place today. It's especially nice to stand on the podium in front of the home crowd", told Kobayashi, who still holds a clear lead in the overall World Cup.
18-year-old Timi Zajc of Slovenia secured his first ever podium in the World Cup. Zajc was already jumping on a high level during the course of this winter, today he finally made it to the podium. "This is great, I'm extremely happy about my first podium. Japan was definitely worth the trip for me", said Timi Zajc.
The Norwegians Halvor Egner Granerud, Robert Johansson and Johann Andre Forfang finished fourth, ninth and tenth. Head coach Alex Stoeckl can be satisfied with having three of his athletes in the Top 10.
Poland's Piotr Zyla, who tied for fourth with Granerud, and Kamil Stoch in sixth provided a good team result also for Poland.
Veteran Noriaki Kasai sparked a wave of enthusiasm with achieved a Top 10 result again after a long drought. The 46-year-old was seventh today - incredible. The best German was Stephan Leyhe in eighth. With Markus Eisenbichler in 16th and Andreas Wellinger in 17th, it was a mediocre result for the German team.
The World Cup continues next weekend in Oberstdorf, where the first Ski Flying event of the season will take place. And there will be three competitions because one of the canceled competitions of Titisee-Neustadt was rescheduled to Oberstdorf. This means a total of five flights (2 training, 1 qualification, 2 competition) for the athletes on Friday.
The Norwegians Halvor Egner Granerud, Robert Johansson and Johann Andre Forfang finished fourth, ninth and tenth. Head coach Alex Stoeckl can be satisfied with having three of his athletes in the Top 10.
Poland's Piotr Zyla, who tied for fourth with Granerud, and Kamil Stoch in sixth provided a good team result also for Poland.
Veteran Noriaki Kasai sparked a wave of enthusiasm with achieved a Top 10 result again after a long drought. The 46-year-old was seventh today - incredible. The best German was Stephan Leyhe in eighth. With Markus Eisenbichler in 16th and Andreas Wellinger in 17th, it was a mediocre result for the German team.
The World Cup continues next weekend in Oberstdorf, where the first Ski Flying event of the season will take place. And there will be three competitions because one of the canceled competitions of Titisee-Neustadt was rescheduled to Oberstdorf. This means a total of five flights (2 training, 1 qualification, 2 competition) for the athletes on Friday.
