Kobayashi holds all the trump cards

Germany's ski jumping hopeful Andreas Wellinger is going into the final of the 72nd Four Hills Tournament from a clear outsider role.

05 January 2024

From: dpa/dl

The 28-year-old Bavarian jumped 128 meters in the qualification on Friday and took ninth place. His direct rival Ryoyu Kobayashi from Japan managed 138 meters and won the preliminary round with a clear lead. The two Austrians Stefan Kraft and Clemens Aigner landed behind him. “The decisive thing is tomorrow anyway,” Wellinger said before qualifying. Kobayashi is 4,8 points ahead of the German in the overall ranking.

The points and distances from the qualification do not count towards the overall ranking. “It's a small, clear setback that you have to accept,” said Sven Hannawald on ARD. Behind Kobayashi and Wellinger, Jan Hörl and Kraft are also in the draw for the overall victory before the final on Saturday (16.30:XNUMX p.m.). However, the two Austrians are already well behind the leading duo.

Alex Insam from Val Gardena showed a decent jump and landed in 26th place. There was a setback for Giovanni Bresadola, who missed the qualification in 52nd place.