A thrilling day for Austrian Stefan Kraft at the World Cup competition on the normal hill in Falun. He won the event, took over the World Cup leader’s vest, and also set a new record for the most points in World Cup history:
— I really like this hill, says Kraft, who won his first World Championship medal here in Falun back in 2015.
The VIESSMANN FIS World Cup at Lugnet in Falun kicked off with the men’s Normal Hill event, delivering some exciting jumps. And there was no doubt who stole the show. The 32-year-old Austrian Stefan Kraft set a hill record in the first round with a jump of 97.5 meters, surpassing the previous record of 97 meters set by Germany’s Severin Freund at the 2015 World Championships by half a meter.
The record jump gave Kraft the lead after the first round, 5.2 points ahead of Slovenia’s Anze Lanisek.
— I got a good feeling for the hill already during the morning training jumps, and I could carry that confidence into the competition, says Kraft, who has fond memories of Falun.
At the 2015 World Championships, he won bronze on this very normal hill, his first individual World Championship medal, as well as silver in the team event (plus fourth place in the large hill and fourth in the mixed team event).
— It was easy to get into the rhythm on the hill. It has a nice flow and flight curve, and conditions were perfect today, says Kraft.
However, his hill record was short-lived. In the second round, Germany’s Philipp Raimund delivered a huge jump of 99.5 meters, earning him a place on the podium in third.
Anze Lanisek took second place, while Stefan Kraft secured victory after a final jump of 96.5 meters.
With this win, the Austrian claimed his 46th individual World Cup victory—tying Matti Nykänen’s record—and also surpassed Janne Ahonen to become the all-time highest points scorer in World Cup history, with 15,811 points.
— It was a perfect day. And I’m already looking forward to tomorrow, says Kraft, who also moved into the lead in this season’s World Cup standings with the win.
New chances to see the world’s best ski jumpers at Lugnet in Falun will come on Wednesday, when the men will compete on the Large Hill.
Results:
Stefan Kraft, Austria – 249.9 points
Anze Lanisek, Slovenia – 247.7 points
Philipp Raimund, Germany – 244.9 points
Full results are available on the FIS website.
Photo: Nordic Focus