As expected, Domen Prevc is crowned winner in the final of the 74th Four Hills Tournament. The DSV Adler once again only play a supporting role.
Domen Prevc kissed the Golden Eagle, 4,000 Slovenian fans kept shouting “Domen, Domen”, then the dethroned Daniel Tschofenig also took off his cap in recognition: with another flying show in second place, the outstanding world champion won the Four Hills Tournament for the first time and made history.
“This is a childhood dream that has come true. I have dreamed of it since I was a child watching Thomas Morgenstern and later my brother,” said the new king of the skies with emotion.
While Prevc enjoyed the ovation, the ailing DSV Adler only had a supporting role in Bischofshofen. “Domen is the absolutely deserved winner. Congratulations,” said Felix Hoffmann. Despite knee problems, the Thuringian secured at least sixth place in the tour rankings by finishing tenth on the Paul-Außerleitner-Schanze.
“It was a cool tour, even if the conclusion was unfortunately not entirely satisfactory,” said Hoffmann on “ARD”.
Prevc’s Four Hills Tournament triumph “overwhelming”
But the high-flyer Prevc, who won the tour exactly ten years to the day after his brother Peter, was unstoppable. After 74 years, a pair of brothers is on the winners list for the first time.
“It’s overwhelming, I’m very proud,” said the world record holder. In the cauldron of Bischofshofen, Prevc only missed his third victory of the day because the Austrian Tschofenig was too strong with flights at 137.0 and 140.5 m. Third place went to the Japanese Ryoyu Kobayashi.
In the overall ranking, after victories in Oberstdorf, Garmisch-Partenkirchen and a second place in Innsbruck, Prevc had a tour record of 1195.6 points, the equivalent of 23.5 meters ahead of the Austrian Jan Hörl (1153.3), who finished fourth. Another ÖSV Adler took third place in Stephan Embacher (1150.6).
The German champion Hoffmann (1120.3), who reported ongoing knee problems for the first time on Monday, missed the podium in the overall ranking that he had secretly hoped for. “We now have to wait for him to be examined. We have to see what happens day by day,” said national coach Stefan Horngacher.
Raimund admits: “It really tore me apart this morning.”
The other DSV Eagles showed a mediocre finish. Philipp Raimund, who had a bad cold, ended up in twelfth place and fell back to eighth place in the tour standings.
“This morning it really tore me apart. I feel like shit. Twelfth place is really okay,” said Raimund. Pius Paschke ended up in 24th place on Tuesday. The problem children Andreas Wellinger (35th) and Karl Geiger (45th) also missed the second round in the fourth tournament competition.
One of Prevc’s first well-wishers was his brother Peter, who was also at the jump. “Domen loves ski jumping. We’re seeing the results now,” the 33-year-old told ARD. Sister and world champion Nika, who had won a few hours earlier in nearby Villach, was also excited: “I wrote him a short message, he made a few jokes. I wish him all the best,” she said before the competition.
Once again it wasn’t enough to achieve the longed-for first German tour victory since 2001/02; next winter, Sven Hannawald’s Grand Slam will be a quarter of a century ago. Who will be in charge of the German team as the successor to national coach Horngacher should be decided shortly. “It certainly won’t happen before the Olympics, but probably in March,” said sports director Horst Hüttel to the SID in Bischofshofen.