Image: GEORG HOCHMUTH (APA)
Chiara Kreuzer, Jan Hörl, Eva Pinkelnig and Stefan Kraft finished fourth on Sunday, 12.9 points behind them on bronze. Gold went to Germany for the fifth time in a row since 2015, which held its own in front of Norway and host Slovenia in changing wind conditions.
While there was nothing to celebrate in the ÖSV camp a few hours after bronze in the combination mixed, Germany’s Katharina Althaus celebrated her third gold in the third competition. The Slovenians could also be satisfied, as the hosts scored bronze for the first time. What was disappointing, however, was the once again sparse crowd of spectators.
“It’s particularly bitter for Stefan”
Pinkelnig took the ungrateful fourth place, which Kraft had already had to accept the day before in the individual competition, in a sporty way: “In a team, you win together and also put up with bitter hours. Today others were better,” said in the individual and in the women’s nations competition Silver-decorated World Cup leader in an ORF interview.
It was particularly bitter for Kraft. “I’m extremely sorry for him. Fourth twice, he absolutely didn’t deserve that, just like the rest of us.” Her second jump gives her a lot of self-confidence for the next competitions. “If I can do that on the big one, then the others can dress warmly,” said Pinkelnig.
At the beginning, Kreuzer, who had been called up to replace the injured Julia Mühlbacher, and Hörl didn’t keep up with the very best. Pinkelnig reduced the gap significantly, but stayed in fifth place like her predecessors. Kraft then made up one position, but the gap to the podium increased again to 17 points. “Of course it will be difficult,” the three-time world champion correctly assessed his chances of winning a medal after the first round.
In this, Kreuzer (97.5) and Hörl (95) increased, but that was of no use against the persistently strong competition. The gap to bronze remained about the same. Pinkelnig sailed to 102 meters, but she didn’t succeed in a Telemark landing, which is why Austria remained stuck on the Blech place with a constant gap of around 18 points. The final jump by Kraft (98.5) didn’t change that. In the past three mixed editions at world championships, the ÖSV teams had won silver twice (2017, 2019) and bronze once (2021).
Source: Nachrichten
