He flies and flies and flies: The Norwegian Jarl Magnus Riiber has set a new hill record on the large hill and is almost sure of gold after the jumping.
The Norwegian Jarl Magnus Riiber is unbeatable at the Nordic World Ski Championships in Planica. At least not on the hill.
After his world championship title on the normal hill, the “king of combined skiers” is well on the way to winning gold on the large hill. The Norwegian sailed an incredible 147 meters. He is 36 seconds ahead of the closest pursuer Ryota Yamamoto from Japan in the subsequent 10 km cross-country race from 3 p.m. (live on the first). “He is unassailable in front. With this jump – no chance”Julian Schmid assessed realistically.
Top starting position for Schmid
Schmid is once again the best German in the final decision in Nordic Combined. He sailed 131 meters and has a great chance to win his fourth medal in Planica. The 23-year-old starts fourth, 1:24 minutes after Riiber.
Second-placed Yamamoto started 49 seconds ahead of Schmid, but is not considered a strong runner and is alone in the field. Kristjan Ilves (Estonia) is currently third – 22 seconds ahead of Schmid. The German enjoys pleasant company with World Cup leader Johannes Lamparter from Austria and Jens Luraas Ofetbro from Norway.
Geiger has to start catching up
Vinzenz Geiger was not lucky with the wind, he only jumped 126 meters and in tenth place he is already well behind bronze (+ 90 seconds). “It’s going to be a tough race, but I won’t give up”according to the man from Oberstdorf.
Rydzek needs fast legs
Johannes Rydzek (18th / + 2:49 minutes) could not save his good jump in the trial round in the competition. Despite dream conditions with a slight updraft, the veteran landed at 127.5 meters. Rydzek needs to catch up again and have fast legs to be able to advance into the top ten. “I felt the support, I could have gone a few meters further. Now it’s time to run fast again.”, Rydzek said on ARD. Small consolation: Rydzek has strong companions. Immediately following the German, Joergen Graabak (Norway) and Ilkka Herola (Finland) will be on the track.
Faißt botched jump and has no chance
Manuel Faißt (25th / + 3:26 minutes), actually a reliably good jumper, completely messed up his flight and landed at 120 meters. “He didn’t get any energy into the flight”, commented ARD expert and ex-combiner Ronny Ackermann. With almost three minutes behind the leaders, Faißt, who had prevailed against Jakob Lange in the internal elimination, has already read all the measurements at halftime.
Norwegian lonely top
The Norwegians are on the way to clearing all gold medals in the combination. The Scandinavians were unbeatable in both relays and in the individual on the normal hill. Given Riiber’s lead, an end to this winning streak seems unlikely.
Since 2018, the 25-year-old Riiber has dominated the World Cup and major events at will, winning four overall World Cups in a row – number five will not succeed this year, but Riiber missed too many World Cup races due to illness. The dominator was back just in time for the World Cup and with his old strength.
Frenzel renounces the last World Cup decision
But the real winner of the last competition in Planica is Eric Frenzel. On Friday (March 3rd, 2023), the record champion decided against the internal elimination for the last World Cup decision. “I achieved my goal by winning a medal in the relay. I know that I’m currently not able to run in at the top on the large hill. And that’s what matters at these World Championships“said the 34-year-old, who also wanted to take the pressure off the other guys with his waiver:”The boys should go into training relaxed so that they can start the competition feeling good and strong.” Frenzel – an exceptional athlete also away from the ski jump and cross-country ski run.