The German ski jumpers shine in the second of four competitions at the New Year’s Eve tournament. In Villach, Katharina Althaus, Selina Freitag and Anna Rupprecht are among the top five. The victory goes to Austria – where the problems with the introduction of a real Four Hills Tournament lie.
Ski jumper Katharina Althaus flew past her third win of the season in the second competition of the Silvester tournament, which was held for the first time. The two-time Olympic silver medalist landed in Villach, Austria, with 92 and 92.5 meters (254.6 points) and in second place was only beaten by the repeated winner of the day, Eva Pinkelnig from Austria. “I just got in better today and felt much more comfortable,” said Althaus, who did not get past ninth place at the start on Wednesday due to a weak first jump.
Selina Freitag also had reason to celebrate, who narrowly missed the podium with her jumps of 95 and 92.5 meters (250.1 points), but was able to celebrate the best World Cup result of her career in fourth place. Right behind her, birthday girl Anna Rupprecht (249.5) completed the strong result for the German Ski Association in fifth place. For the 26-year-old, it was the first place in the top five in six years.
The overall World Cup leader Pinkelnig prevailed with two flights of 94.5 meters (260.2) in front of Althaus and Nika Kriznar (251.1) from Slovenia and extended both her lead in the World Cup and in the overall classification of the New Year’s tournament. Luisa Görlich (18th) and Pauline Hessler (26th) also made it into the second round. After successful qualification, Agnes Reisch had to forego her start with knee problems.
The New Year’s tournament, which will continue with two competitions in Ljubno, Slovenia (December 31 and January 1), is intended to be a step towards a full-fledged women’s Four Hills Tournament. The efforts for the long-awaited series at the four traditional locations of the men recently received a big damper.
The planned premiere in the 2023/24 season has already burst, especially at the Austrian locations Innsbruck and Bischofshofen there are difficulties. The women’s tour premiere will now take place in the 2024/25 season at the earliest. This hanging game causes a lot of resentment among the top jumpers.