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WITHnext, fourth, first, first: Anyone who can boast such an impressive series is truly the best. The 69th edition of the Four Hills Tournament: a case for Kamil Stoch. For “King Kamil”, the pride of Poland. For the ski jumper, who showed his great class and consistency in all four competitions in Oberstdorf, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Innsbruck and now in the final on Wednesday night in Bischofshofen. In the first lap, the leader of the general classification gave a clear example, because with 139 meters he showed the best jump of the competition to date.
In addition to Norwegian Marius Lindvik, who finished second at Bischofshofen, only Karl Geiger was able to jump into the Greater Poland league, which was rewarding and bitter. Had it not been for this nasty crash at the Bergisel in Innsbruck, where Geiger had only finished 16th after a failed first jump, the gap to Stoch would have been significantly smaller. So the 27-year-old from Oberstdorf managed to say goodbye to this tour with one great final competition: second overall, ahead of reigning champion Dawid Kubacki.
The deserved winner, however, was Stoch, who even reached 140 meters with his last technically perfect jump. For the 33-year-old Poland, it is the third big success at the Four Hills Tournament. Stoch was already the measure of all things in 2017 and 2018. By defending his title, he even managed to win all four individual competitions, as Sven Hannawald did for the first time in 2002.
In the last eagerly awaited competition at Paul-Ausserleitner-Schanze in Bischofshofen, Geiger was the second of a total of 50 athletes to cross the bakken. He would have liked to save himself this, because it also meant that the Oberstdorfer was only 25th in the standings. His opponent in the first knockout duel under the spotlight was Pole Andrzej Stekala, the fourth man in the strong quartet around Stoch, Kubacki and Piotr Zyla.
Geiger had to wait longer for his stuntman Markus Eisenbichler, eighth in the standings, to jump out. The three-time world champion faced Russia’s Yevgeny Klimov in the first round. A task that Eisenbichler was not up to on the Pongau Flying Hill. He wanted to push his luck, and he experienced an accident. At just 120.5 meters, Eisenbichler can do better, much better, in normal form. Because Klimow jumped four and a half meters more, this was synonymous with the later finish for the Bavarian.
35th place in the first round alone – a huge disappointment for the ambitious emotional jumper who only showed his great class once in his outstanding 142 meter jump at the start in Oberstdorf. “That was a huge leap today,” Eisenbichler said after his inconclusive finish at Bischofshofen in an initial reaction at ZDF. “I just didn’t have confidence in myself and was watching. It’s not a pleasure to fly, I’m not relaxed. “
Easy, that was the rest, and the duels at the end were interesting and important for Geiger. Halvor Egner Granerud, overall World Cup leader, had to deal with old master Simon Ammann. Stoch faced Canadian Matthew Soukup. The Norwegian prevailed with 133 meters, but could not maintain his advantage over Geiger in the general classification. Only Stoch, the great stylist, was better than Geiger.
Stoch flew like an eagle at 150 yards, and again there was no jerk or wobble in the air. Stoch is and remains a safe bet, and only one last leap separated him from his big punch. Before that, Geiger was 32 points behind the Pole. Too great a distance, after all, to endanger Stoch. “Kamil drove him crazy,” said Geiger, who was glad “he got there like this.”
So Stoch has exceeded high expectations. “He is an extraordinary athlete who can do everything in ski jumping,” said his former coach Stefan Horngacher, who after three years of great success working in Poland joined the German Ski Federation, where he has been fighting for two years. the dream of a German general victory. at the Four Hills Tournament to make it happen. What is the difference between your best Geiger jumpers, who you witnessed “two great jumps” at Bischofshofen, and Eisenbichler and his former athlete Stoch? “Kamil is there to win.”
Not just any competition, but a series of competitions that have had a special charm for decades: the German-Austrian Four Hills Tournament. Once again, it was the Poles who were initially excluded due to a false positive corona test, but then allowed to be there, and who dominated the event. Stoch’s third blow was the fourth victory for a Pole in the last five years. This is really cool, and one more incentive for the Germans and their long-awaited dream.
