Combined athlete Nathalie Armbruster clinched her next podium at the first World Cup of the new year, but also had to admit defeat to the weather.
The second part of the mass start in Otepää, Estonia, was canceled due to strong gusts of wind before jumping. The cross-country skiing had taken place as planned a few hours earlier.
In combination with the provisional jumping round from the previous day, the overall result was put together by the jury: Armbruster came third, World Cup leader Ida Marie Hagen from Norway won.
After the World Cup in Schonach was canceled due to weather at the beginning of the year, the athletes had to struggle with nature again.
Good starting position for jumping
With double-digit temperatures below zero, Armbruster had worked out a good starting position for the jump as second behind Hagen on the cross-country ski trail and went to the jump 16.8 seconds behind.
Since it was not possible to hold a safe competition there due to the wind conditions, Armbruster’s eleventh place in the provisional round on Thursday was enough for her fourth podium in the fifth competition. Finland’s Minja Korhonen came second, Jenny Nowak took eighth place.
The Norwegian Hagen, who was narrowly defeated by Armbruster in the fight for the big crystal ball last year, continues to confidently lead the overall ranking (490 points). Armbruster is in third place, 122 points behind.
The winter is bitter for the combined athletes: they are not allowed to take part in the Olympic Games in February.
The World Cup is all the more important, the next competition is on Saturday, when the jumping will take place using the well-known Gundersen method (10.45 a.m./cross-country skiing 2.30 p.m.). The compact race follows on Sunday (11.30 a.m./3 p.m.).