Andreas Wellinger is currently leading the overall ranking of the Four Hills Tournament. The wind caused him problems when qualifying for Innsbruck. His biggest competitor Ryoyu Kobayashi comes third.
Andreas Wellinger finished in 15th place at the qualification in Innsbruck, the third stop of the Four Hills Tournament. The leader in the overall ranking showed a solid performance with his jump of 119.5 meters (107.8 points) in difficult conditions and was 22.3 points behind first place Anze Lanisek (130.10).
Ryoyu Kobayashi, Wellinger’s closest competitor in the fight for overall victory at the Four Hills Tournament, came third with 129 meters (122.2 points). Karl Geiger (33rd), Pius Paschke (35th), Philipp Raimund (20th) and Stephan Leyhe (30th) were also able to qualify for the jumping on Wednesday.
Four Hills Tournament: Close battle for the top
After the first two competitions, Wellinger is 1.8 points ahead of Kobayashi in the overall ranking of the Four Hills Tournament. The Austrian Stefan Kraft, considered the big favorite for overall victory, is already 25.2 points behind Wellinger, but could definitely attack again. His compatriots Manuel Fettner (-32.6 points) and Jan Hörl (-34.2) are also hoping to intervene in the title fight in the two remaining competitions at home. Lanisek, winner of the day in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, is also within striking distance (-38.2).
However, Wellinger and Kobayashi have so far offered little target. In the jumping in Oberstdorf, the 28-year-old from Ruhpolding took the day’s victory ahead of the Japanese. In the New Year’s competition, Kobayashi came in second, right in front of Wellinger. However, Kraft has proven that he controls the hill in Innsbruck like no other, which he underlined with his second place in the qualification (127.10).
Karl Geiger with problems
With strong gusts and changeable conditions, the qualification in Innsbruck was also successful for the other German starters. The starting field had now shrunk from nine DSV jumpers in Garmisch-Partenkirchen to five, which is why only the top jumpers competed.
Raimund jumped to 122 meters, but received large deductions due to a strong headwind and came twentieth. The 23-year-old was still satisfied: “I caught it very gusty. Basically solid”, he said on ZDF. Karl Geiger was spared the disgrace from the previous year when he failed to qualify in Innsbruck. However, he is not necessarily satisfied with his 33rd place (92.80). The conditions also made things difficult for Pius Paschke (35th / 92.20) and Stephan Leyhe (30th / 95.90).