Ski jumper Katharina Schmid has made an impressive comeback after her small dip in form on the Two Nights Tour. At the World Cup in Villach, the seven-time world champion achieved her fourth success this winter.
At halftime, the 28-year-old from Oberstdorf was still in second place, seven points behind Nika Prevc, but thanks to a strong jump to 97 meters in the final she pushed past the recently outstanding Slovenian (99.5 and 94 meters). 4.5 points ultimately tipped the scales for Schmid. The Austrian Jacqueline Seifriedsberger came third (92 and 94 meters). Selina Freitag was also able to impress, but missed out on the podium in fifth place.
Schmid had thought about retiring after last season, but this winter he is jumping again like he was at his best. Thanks to her fourth win of the season – just in time for national coach Heinz Kuttin’s 54th birthday – the two-time Olympic silver medalist also keeps Prevc at a distance in the overall World Cup and continues to lead with 46 points. The Slovenian had dominated the past few weeks and won three competitions in a row. “I won’t give up the yellow jersey that quickly. This simply makes jumping easier“, Schmid laughed on ZDF: “I wanted to give it my all today, and it worked.“
Prevc at halftime in front of Schmid
On the Two Nights Tour, Schmid was not able to make it onto the podium in both Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Oberstdorf. In Villach she already had the best jump in terms of points in the qualification and was able to confirm this with 95.5 meters in the first round in difficult wind conditions. “I’m very happy and will try to keep going in the second round“, said Schmid. Only Prevc was once again ahead of her – as in the past few weeks. The Slovenian had already shone in the qualification with a new hill record (102 meters).
At this point, Freitag was already almost 15 points behind Prevc, but she had her sights set on the podium after her jump of 91.5 meters in fourth place. The 23-year-old from Saxony was unable to improve further in the second round with 90 meters and fell back one place. “The jump doesn’t really suit me, but I showed a good competition. I want to build on that tomorrow“said Friday.
Schmid intercepts Prevc
It had already become clear in advance that the victory only went through Prevc and Schmid. Schmid was the penultimate jumper off the beam and achieved a strong 97 meters in good external conditions. Prevc then had to correct in flight, did not do the telemark optimally and was unable to defend her lead.
The other German ski jumpers also all made it to the final and collected World Cup points. Juliane Seyfarth came 15th after 90.5 and 86 meters, Agnes Reisch, who made heads turn with fourth and seventh places on the Two Nights Tour, came 20th (87.5 and 82.5 meters). Anna Hollandt and Alvine Holz finished the competition in 28th and 29th place.