Ski flying world champion Stefan Kraft won the second individual competition on Sunday (February 25, 2024) in Oberstdorf and is extending his lead in the overall World Cup. Andreas Wellinger missed the podium despite a good starting position.
Germany’s best ski jumper ended up 8.2 points short of third place. Wellinger had previously made two flights to 221.5 and 215.5 meters into the valley. At half time he was still in fourth place, but after a weaker second attempt he had to let three competitors overtake him. In the end, the Traunsteiner came seventh in the home World Cup. The day before he had finished sixth.
“It’s a shame. It was up to me to finish further up the field,” Wellinger said disappointedly on the sports show microphone. His first analysis: “I was too hectic when I jumped. It was too impetuous, so I have to stay calmer. I’m missing exactly those meters down there.” But the declaration of war for the final spurt of the season also followed promptly. “We still have four tough weeks ahead of us. I want to be on the podium again. I know I can do it.”
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40th World Cup victory for Kraft
The Austrian Stefan Kraft took his 40th World Cup victory, winning with flights of 224 and 217 meters ahead of Peter Prevc (223.5 / 224 meters). The Slovenian, who will end his career at the end of the season, once again showed what he is capable of on the home straight of his career. He had already come second the day before. The Japanese Ryoyu Kobayashi (224 / 215), who was leading at halftime, fell back to third place.
Like the day before, Wellinger was the only German to make it into the top ten. Even in the super team, he and Pius Paschke weren’t enough for the podium. National coach Stefan Horngacher’s conclusion was correspondingly mixed. “We had hoped for a lot more. We didn’t fly stable and there were always small mistakes. The boys are actually in a good mood and wanted more here. But in the end it was perhaps a bit too tense.”
Not easy conditions in Oberstdorf
The Austrian Daniel Huber already showed in the qualification how far he could go on the final day in Oberstdorf in difficult wind conditions when he was only 2.5 meters below the hill record with a leap of 240 meters. However, there were no such distances in the first round due to constantly changing conditions between tailwind and upwind, which in turn initially benefited Wellinger.
Even if he didn’t seem completely satisfied after his 221.5 meters in the jump run-out, he remained fully in the race for the podium after a consistent flight in fourth place. “All in all, one of my best flights this season,” was Wellinger’s conclusion. He was only 0.2 points short of Timi Zajc and third place. First place and Kobayashi were eleven points behind. Kraft had positioned himself behind the Japanese.
Wellinger is fighting with a tailwind
Wellinger had a bit of bad luck in the final. A tailwind pushed him down at 215.5 meters. There were also a few small technical errors. So all chances of getting on the podium were already gone. In the fight for the day’s victory, Prevc presented a great set that only Kraft could counter. In the end, the Austrian had 3.3 points more and extended his lead in the overall World Cup (1,546 points) ahead of Kobayashi (1,277) and Wellinger (1,161).
Pius Paschke became the second best German with 207.5 and 208.5 meters. The veteran in the German team earned a solid 17th place after recent rather disappointing results. Overall, he drew a positive conclusion, even if he had hoped for a little more in the individual competitions. “But overall it was a step forward for me.”
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Raimund and Geiger with room for improvement
Philipp Raimund couldn’t confirm his great jumps from the day before. The 23-year-old local hero was a bit over-motivated on his first jump attempt and landed after just 195 meters. On the second attempt, however, he made it over the 200 meter mark and brought the ski flying weekend to a happy end as 26th in the final rankings. “I boosted my self-confidence yesterday and wanted to step on the gas today. Unfortunately that was a bit too much,” smiled Raimund afterwards.
Karl Geiger was also able to laugh a bit again after his qualifying debacle the day before. This time the Oberstdorfer easily made it into the competition in front of his home audience with 208.5 meters, but was unable to confirm his performance in the first round. 197 meters meant only 29th place at halftime. The former ski flying world champion was unable to improve on his second attempt either and touched down after just 187.5 meters. “I’m happy that I was in the final today,” said Geiger, initially relieved, but at the same time making it clear. “I know I can fly. But right now I’m just having a hard time.”
Leyhe is eliminated from qualifying
Felix Hoffmann missed the second round this time. After a botched jump, the 26-year-old landed after 189.5 meters and came 32nd. Stephan Leyhe was already only a spectator at this point. After the man from Willingen had barely made it into the competition the day before, this time he failed to qualify in 42nd place (158.5 meters) due to the difficult conditions. A DSV national group was not in action in the second individual competition.