Ski jumping: Kraft came third at the start of the tour in Oberstdorf

The high flyer of the season had to give way to the German Andreas Wellinger and Ryoyu Kobayashi from Japan in the opening competition of the 72nd Four Hills Tournament in Oberstdorf. With tricky tailwind conditions, the Salzburg native finished with distances of 132.5 and 125 meters, 10.4 points behind Wellinger (139.5/128), who celebrated a much-celebrated home victory in front of 25,500 fans.

As a team, the ÖSV jumpers, who were initially top placed, did not see themselves favored by the wind in the decision. With Jan Hörl (8th), Michael Hayböck (10th) and Manuel Fettner (13th), three Austrians ended up in the top 15, after four were in the top eight at halftime. Clemens Aigner ranked directly ahead of Daniel Tschofenig in 19th place. In the predicted national match between Austria and Germany, the hosts of the first ski jump spectacle made it 1-0.

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“I would say a great start. It was very exciting, a brilliant atmosphere. Winning at home in front of such a backdrop was certainly one of Andi’s best experiences,” said Kraft on ORF and congratulated his opponent. “Hats off to Andi for bringing it down like that.” Kraft himself acknowledged that his second jump was not perfect. “When I catch the take-off table, I also hop my 128, 129.”

The 2014/15 triumphant still wants to fight his New Year’s curse in Garmisch-Partenkirchen with a lot of self-confidence. “I’m happy that I’m on the podium. It’s incredibly nice at the start,” said Kraft, who also secured the last Austrian podium in Oberstdorf in 2018 by finishing third.

The field of contenders for the tour victory has already reduced significantly after just one quarter. Last year’s Norwegian winner Halvor Egner Granerud (105.5 m) was able to write off his title defense after just one jump. Other previous winners, such as Poland’s Kamil Stoch and David Kubacki, also opened up a significant gap.