Stoch claims another Four Hills ski jumping victory

Another day, another hill, same result: Kamil Stoch won the second leg of the Four Hills competition in Garmisch-Partenkirchen on Monday, two days after taking the opening round in Oberstdorf.

The Pole, a double Olympic champion and the reigning Four Hills champion, again showed his love of the big occasion. He had not won a World Cup event all season before he beat the German Richard Freitag in the first round in one Bavarian Alps resort and he repeated the victory on another Bavarian hill on Monday. The Norwegian, Anders Fannemel, was third.

Freitag was supported by 20,000 fans on Monday in a nation passionate about an event that drew 5.67 million viewers on German broadcaster ARD for the first leg.

Stoch outleaped the home favourite with jumps of 132.5 meters and then 139.5 meters as he scored a total of 283.4 points. Freitag managed 132 and 137 meters for 275.8 points.

Stoch, who is 30, had to wait for long minutes on the ramp because of high winds.

"It was a challenge for me," Stoch said. "In these circumstances, you have to find your own system, stay very focused on what you know how to do. It's no doubt my experience, I'm not a young man anymore."

He is the first competitor since the Norwegian Anders Jacobsen in 2012-13 to win the first two legs of the competition. The only man to have won all four legs was the legendary German Sven Hannawal in 2002.

For Freitag, who has won three times in the World Cup this season, the second places confirm that the 26-year-old German is a contender for an Olympic medal in Pyeongchang in February.

The competition moves from Germany to Austria for the last two legs on January 4 in Innsbruck and January 6 in Bischofshofen.

Results

1. Kamil Stoch (POL) 283.4 pts (135.5 + 139.5 metres), 2. Richard Freitag (GER) 275.8 (132 + 137), 3. Anders Fannemel (NOR) 270.2 (132.5 + 136.5), 4. Junshiro Kobayashi (JPN) 269.2 (137 + 131.5), 5. Tilen Bartol (SLO) 268.9 (136 + 133.5)

Four Hills standings after two events:

1. Kamil Stoch (POL) 563.1 pts, 2. Richard Freitag (GER) 551.3, 3. Dawid Kubacki(POL) 530.8, 4. Junshiro Kobayashi (JPN) 526.3, 5. Anders Fannemel(NOR) 525.5

Overall World Cup standings (after nine of 23 events):

1. Richard Freitag (GER) 710 pts, 2. Kamil Stoch (POL) 523, 3. Andreas Wellinger (GER) 449, 4. Daniel Andre Tande (NOR) 383, 5. Stefan Kraft (AUT) 342.

Source: AFP