A week after the dream start in Kuusamo, Finland, the German ski jumpers are also in strong form at the second World Cup event this winter.
At the qualification in Lillehammer, Norway, Andreas Wellinger (Ruhpolding) came in second with a jump of 99.5 m; on the normal hill, the two-time Olympic champion was only beaten by the Austrian Stefan Kraft.
Behind Wellinger, Philipp Raimund (Oberstdorf), Stephan Leyhe (Willingen) and Pius Paschke (Kiefersfelden) impressed with places four to six, and five-time world champion Karl Geiger (Oberstdorf) also reached the top 10 in eighth place. German champion Martin Hamann (Aue ) also easily qualified in 22nd place for the competition on Saturday (4:00 p.m./ZDF and Eurosport).
“We trained in Lillehammer in the summer and therefore know what to expect,” national coach Stefan Horngacher had said in advance: “Our goal is to match the compact team performance of Kuusamo in Lillehammer and to use this team strength to achieve the top positions attack.”
At the start of the season, the German Ski Association team impressed in Finland in the bitter cold. In the first competition, two DSV Adler made it onto the podium in Paschke and Leyhe, with Wellinger rounding off the strong performance with fourth place. A day later, Wellinger reached the podium again in third place.