The third stop of the New Year’s tour of the Four Ski Jumps was held today in Innsbruck, and the Japanese Ren Nikaido won, while the Slovenian jumper Domen Prevc took second place.
Prevc, although he did not stand on the top step of the podium, achieved an extremely important result – he left behind all his Austrian rivals and further increased his overall lead in the tour standings. After Innsbruck, the Slovenian leads with 41.4 points more than the Austrian Jan Horl, while Stephan Embacher is an additional three tenths of a point behind Hörl.
The final series brought a dramatic fight for victory. Prevc jumped 128 meters in the first jump and took the lead, but Nikaido with an identical jump of 128 meters surpassed him with a minimum advantage of half a point. Embacher finished third with 127.5 meters, ahead of all Austrian competitors.
In the first series, the Slovenian jumper Anže Lanišek stood out with 127 meters, while the Austrians, including Stefan Kraft, remained behind the leaders. Before the competition in Innsbruck, the Austrian team announced an attack on the top, and the head of the team, Mario Stecher, publicly made accusations about possible manipulations of the equipment, which did not affect the result on the ski jump.
The jumpers continue the competition tomorrow with the qualifications in Bischofshofen, and a day later the final series and the decision on the winner of the Golden Eagle will follow.
(Vijesti.ba)
