Ski jumping: sovereign comeback victory by Pinkelnig in Hinzenbach

Chiara Kreuzer was sixth. With her sixth win of the season, Pinkelnig extended her lead in the overall standings over German Katharina Althaus, who was fourth this time, before the second competition on Saturday morning.

Last weekend Pinkelnig was not among the front runners on the largest large hill in Willingen as 10th and 13th. On the small home hill, the 34-year-old was again unbeatable as a distraction after a leisurely ski tour. “Incredible, unbelievable. I was able to implement everything perfectly. It worked perfectly,” Pinkelnig celebrated in an ORF interview about her third win of the winter in front of her home crowd after the double in Villach. At the same time it was her 14th podium finish of the World Championship season.

The dominator spoke of a successful mini comeback after the small interim crisis in Germany due to fatigue and mental problems with the giant hill. “A very, very special victory,” emphasized the Dornbirner, who is now 189 points ahead of Althaus in the overall World Cup.

Kreuzer, double winner in Hinzenbach in 2020, slipped off the podium after third place. “It’s a bit of a shame. I hope it will be the other way around tomorrow,” said Kreuzer. The third-best Austrian was local hero Jacqueline Seifriedsberger as 13th. World Cup title defender Sara Marita Kramer was not at the start again, the Salzburger will probably only start again at the World Championships in two weeks.

Strange incident before the competition

Immediately before the Hinzenbach competition, a minor incident caused a stir. Because the traction cable of the track milling machine tore from the anchorage, the device, which weighs several hundred kilos, slid at high speed over the inrun and the take-off table, hit the landing hill and rolled down into the valley. Several helpers working there were able to get to safety, so there was major damage to the device and moments of shock for everyone involved.

OC boss Bernhard Zauner spoke of a chain of unfortunate circumstances with a mild outcome and announced a detailed investigation into the incident. “It is important that no one is injured,” said Zauner. The organizer was also happy that the inrun track was not damaged and that the running of the competitions was not endangered. The jumpers were also relieved that no one was hurt. “Thank God nothing happened,” stressed Pinkelnig.