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Former world champion Severin Freund missed the last German starting place in the singles for the World Ski Flight Championships in Planica.
After the two official training rounds on Thursday afternoon, national coach Stefan Horngacher selected Constantin Schmid as the fourth starter alongside seeded Markus Eisenbichler, Karl Geiger and Pius Paschke for qualification starting at 4pm
Freund (32), who in 2014 was the last German flying World Cup gold medalist to date and who last jumped from a ski jump in March 2016 before his serious knee injuries, achieved 206 , 5 and 208.0 m in training. He remained well behind Schmid (217.0 + 226.0), in whom Horngacher placed his trust after the results of training, just ahead of third contender Martin Hamann (222.0 + 224.5).
Hamann is likely to stay at Planica as a substitute for the team competition on Sunday, and Freund should return home.
The strongest DSV Eagle in training was Eisenbichler, who underscored his title ambitions with flights at 232.0 and 236.0 m. Stefan Kraft, Austrian world record holder, achieved the best distance in the first training session. The 2018 world runner-up, whose start was questionable due to a COVID-19 disease with clear symptoms, flew 239.0 m. In the second round, Kraft’s compatriot Michael Hayböck, also fresh out of the Corona quarantine, reached 241.0m.
