Ski jumper Andreas Wellinger clearly missed another podium finish at the World Cup in Sapporo.
One day after third place, the two-time season winner had to settle for 16th place in Japan, which was his second-worst result of the winter.
Domen Prevc wins
The victory surprisingly went to the Slovenian Domen Prevc, who was at the top for the first time since March 2019. Wellinger was initially only in 23rd place after a jump of 116.0 m, but made up ground in the second round with 131.0 m. The best German was Karl Geiger, who had previously surprisingly won the qualification, in twelfth place.
For the second time this season, no DSV Adler was in the top ten. Only Philipp Raimund (17th) and Felix Hoffmann (19th) made it into the points, Stephan Leyhe (33rd) and Pius Paschke (34th) were eliminated. Noriaki Kasai once again made the Japanese fans cheer. The oldest jumper in World Cup history survived the qualification and completed the 571st World Cup start of his career.
Kasai this time without points
Unlike on Saturday, when the 51-year-old finished 30th and scored his first World Cup point since March 2019, this time 43rd place was not enough for the second round. Domen Prevc celebrated the sixth victory of his career ahead of local hero Ryoyu Kobayashi, who had to settle for second place like on Saturday, and Kristoffer Eriksen Sundal (Norway).
The Austrian Stefan Kraft, who had won the 39th World Cup of his career the day before, came fourth. Kraft remains ahead in the overall World Cup with 1386 points, but Kobayashi (1181) caught up slightly. Wellinger (1102) follows in third place, with a big gap behind him.
Source: Nicole Hornischer/sid