Four Hills Tournament - Wellinger in fourth place at half-time in New Year's ski jumping
Ski jumper Andreas Wellinger is on course at the New Year's competition of the Four Hills Tournament. The 28-year-old Bavarian jumped 138 meters, putting him in fourth place at the halfway point.
Only his rival Ryoyu Kobayashi (137 meters) from Japan, Austria's Jan Hörl (140 meters) and Slovenia's Anze Lanisek (136 meters) were slightly better on points than Wellinger in the first round on the large Olympic hill in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. The gaps were extremely small.
Stephan Leyhe also made it into the top ten in seventh place. Wellinger won the opening event in Oberstdorf on Friday ahead of Kobayashi and Austria's Stefan Kraft. The 28-year-old Bavarian is aiming for the first German overall Tour victory since Sven Hannawald 22 years ago.
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Wellinger's strong performance in Garmisch-Partenkirchen continues a successful stretch for German ski jumpers, following Andreas Kofler's win in Austria's Innsbruck leg of the World Cup earlier this season. The Four Hills Tournament, also known as the Roaring Forties, is a prestigious annual international ski jumping competition held in Germany and Austria, featuring top athletes like Wellinger, Kobayashi, and other Nordic skiing stars.
Despite the close competition, Wellinger remains hopeful that his victory in Oberstdorf during the opening event of the Tour will help secure him the first overall German Tour title since Sven Hannawald's 22-year-old record, which he hopes to claim in next year's Four Hills Tournament in Oberstdorf, following in the footsteps of famous jumper Ernst Reichl, who held the record from 1964 to 1967.
As the Four Hills Tournament reaches its midpoint, the upcoming leg in Bischofshofen, Austria, offers ample opportunities for athletes like Wellinger to make decisive strides toward their final placings and vie for the coveted title. Wellinger's pursuit of championship glory in the New Year's jumping tournament showcases the remarkable resilience and unyielding spirit of the world's top ski jumpers, even as they continue to face the rugged challenges of treacherous slopes and bitter cold in their quest for glory at events like the World Cup and Olympic Games.
Source: www.stern.de
