- At the Nordic World Ski Championships in Planica (SLO), Slovenia’s Timi Zajc celebrates gold.
- Silver wins Ryoyu Kobayashi (JPN), bronze goes to Dawid Kubacki (POL).
- Simon Ammann classified himself as the best Swiss in 22nd place.
Local hero Timi Zajc is the new ski jumping world champion on the large hill. The 22-year-old, who was second at half-time, came up trumps in the decision in front of 5,000 fans and secured victory with a jump of 137 meters.
Zajc is the first Slovenian world champion since Rok Benkovic, who unexpectedly flew to the title in 2005 in Oberstdorf. The Finn Jari Puikkonen was the last person to win World Cup gold in his own country in 1989 in Lahti.
Ryoyu Kobayashi would have had the chance to spoil the Slovenian gold party as the last jumper. The Japanese managed a good, but not outstanding jump. And so he couldn’t defend his lead. After all, the Japanese leaves with silver. The podium was completed by Pole Dawid Kubacki.
Ammann just outside the top 20
Simon Ammann turned out to be the best Swiss. After the first round, the Toggenburger even flirted with a top 15 result. He sailed to 127.5 meters, took the lead in the ranking and defended it for a few minutes. In the decision, the old master fell to 22nd place despite a jump of 128 meters due to weaker grades in posture.
Swiss Ski Team Leader Gregor Deschwanden couldn’t match his performance on the normal hill. The 31-year-old from Lucerne jumped 126 meters in the first round and 124.5 meters in the second. In the end, this brought him 24th position in the final standings. On the normal hill he secured 19th place with two solid jumps.
Imhof and Peier not in the final
The other two Swiss – 19-year-old World Cup debutant Remo Imhof and Killian Peier – were not able to convince in the first round and were eliminated. Imhof landed after 119.5 meters, which meant 44th place. Peier even touched down after 115 meters. The 27-year-old finished 47th.
This is how it goes
The last ski jumping event in Planica is on the program on Saturday. The men reach for the medals in teams. Follow the jumping live from 4:20 p.m. on SRF.