Gregor Deschwanden showed on the training and qualification day at the Ski Jumping World Cup in Engelberg that he will be the Swiss trump card.
20.12.2024, 19:07
20.12.2024, 19:32
SDA
The man from Lucerne was initially the best jumper in training, but came tenth in the qualifiers as he was severely disadvantaged by the tailwind.
The wind picked up strongly in front of the 33-year-old. After a ten-minute interruption, the run-up was extended by two hatches so that the top 5 could also sail into the valley. The Austrian Daniel Tschofenig (136.5 m) emerged as the day's winner from this quintet. World Cup leader Pius Paschke, winner in five of the eight jumps so far, came fifth (133.5 m). Deschwanden landed after 128 m.
Of the other Swiss athletes, Killian Peier attracted attention with a 7th place in the second training round. After a weak start to the season, the 2019 World Championship bronze medallist seems to be gaining a foothold at a decent level. 129 m was enough for 20th place.
The rest of the Swiss, led by Simon Ammann, will have to watch on Saturday because they failed to make the top 50 cut. In addition to the four-time Olympic champion, this also applies to Felix Trunz, Yanick Wasser, Sandro Hauswirth, Juri Kesseli and Lean Niederberger.