Ski jumping: Kraft sixth in Garmisch qualification

High-flyer Stefan Kraft, third overall after the start in Oberstdorf, landed in sixth place on New Year’s Eve. The German leader Andreas Wellinger came second behind the Slovenian Anze Lanisek, followed by Manuel Fettner and Michael Hayböck.

Clemens Aigner finished 18th immediately ahead of Daniel Tschofenig. Jan Hörl (33rd) also easily made it into the field of 50. The qualification took place in front of 8,000 fans, and on Monday there will be more than 20,000. Only 3,500 came to the women’s two-night competition, which was held for the first time on Saturday evening.

Against the “Garmisch curse”

On New Year’s Day, Kraft will try to finally break his “Garmisch curse”. Most recently, the Pongauer had to bury his tour hopes six times in a row at the second of four stops. With places 31, 49, 13, 28, a qualifying exit and 18th place in the previous season, Kraft has fallen sharply in the recent past, but the red-white-red hopeful feels no particular aversion to the large Olympic ski jump. On the contrary. “I can ski jump there very well. I can’t think of anything that I don’t like about the hill,” said Kraft.

A few years ago he completed one of the best jumping sessions of his life during summer training in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Now the 30-year-old feels significantly more secure than in previous years. “I had to work magic and go all-in to be able to fight for the overall victory. That often didn’t work, but this year it’s definitely much more stable. Even with small mistakes, you can still go a long way and that gives you security,” he emphasized.