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Two Norwegians in the medal table after the first day of the World Cup in ski flight, but it was not without drama.
There were high expectations for several of the Norwegian jumpers when the first two of a total of four rounds at the World Ski Flying Championships were held in Planica on Friday afternoon.
Halvor Egner Granerud is the best Norwegian after the first two rounds with jumps of 221 and 229.5 meters. It is currently a second place for the Norwegian.
Therefore, Granerud is seriously involved in the gold party. This despite the fact that the 24-year-old faced several challenges during the jump on Friday.
Also read: Lindvik sent home in hiding
Drama: Ice Lumps on the Rink
On the second jump, there was drama when Granerud discovered that chunks of ice started rolling down the track just before he jumped.
– I saw all the pieces of ice fall. I immediately informed the headlines that “this has to be removed because I have plans to jump,” Granerud tells Nettavisen.
The Norwegian jumper explains that on his own initiative he chose to remove his skis and was clear that he had no intention of jumping until the slopes had been checked.
– I have no plans to jump into Planica with ice cubes on the radio, says the 24-year-old.
The Norwegian thus waited for the ground crews to remove the pieces of ice.
– I am very happy that I decided that this had to be reviewed and fixed, says Granerud.
Because as he himself says, in the worst case scenario he could end up with the ice chips that would have led him to lose control in the upper race, something that of course he will avoid at 100 kilometers per hour.
Also read: Granerud believes he is an outsider
Fortunately, things turned out well, but the wait made conditions worse. However, Granerud maintained one of the best jumps in the second round.
The national team coach Alexander Stöckl is very impressed with the way the student handled the situation.
– There was something that fell on the approach, but it is quite cold. He sits on top and waits, then comes a test jump and then Granerud takes a better jump than in the first round. I think that’s important, Stöckl tells NRK.
– Damned
In the first jump, only Gregor Schlierenzauer had worse conditions than the Norwegian, but he himself should not have been happy with how he technically solved the jump.
This was revealed by sports director Clas Brede Bråthen to NRK.
– Halvor was a bit cursed at himself because he felt like he hadn’t performed well.
– It’s clear when you feel like you have not performed well, you have the worst conditions in the whole round, you are in fourth place in the World Cup in ski flight, so it probably says a lot about the potential. Now Halvor’s job will be to exploit the potential in the same way that Roar Ljøkelsøy did in 2004, Bråthen told the state channel after the first round.
Granerud confirms to Nettavisen that he was somewhat upset and notes that he jumped better on the test lap where he landed at an impressive 243 meters.
Johansson in the fight for the medal
Robert Johansson also did well on Friday. The Norwegian landed at 220 and 228.5 meters in his jumps. It is currently a fifth place for Johansson.
The best of all on Friday was the German Karl Geiger with jumps of 241 and 223.5 meters. This means that he is 4.6 points ahead of Granerud.
Johansson is 19.8 points behind the German leader after two jumps.
Reigning world champion Daniel Andre Tande, who is in 14th place, did not fare so well. Tande landed at 203 and 218.5 meters in his jumps on Friday.
Johann Andre Forfang stretched to 202.5 and 213 meters. The Tromsø jumper is 21st. Newcomer Sander Vossan Eriksen remains in the back seat after jumps of 207 and 208 meters.
See the full list of results after the first day here.
The individual skiing World Cup competition ends with the last two rounds on Saturday afternoon, while a team competition is organized on Sunday.
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