Nordic Ski World Championships: World Championship medal – but no Althaus skiing record

The next medal for skiing is Katarina Althaus. But with the bronze medal, the woman from Oberstdorf missed out on a world championship record on the large hill. There were surprises on the ranks of gold and silver.

Snowboarder Katarina Althaus also won the World Championships medal from the big hill in Planica. After three gold medals, the women from Oberstdorf took home the bronze medal on Wednesday (01/03/2023). With distances of 126.0 and 128.0 metres, the 26-year-old just defeated surprise world champions Alexandra Lottet of Canada and Maren Lundby of Norway.

Micheler: “Congratulations and respect”

With winds changing, races often changing in the first round and snow falling in the second round, Althaus held his nerve and celebrated with a third-place finish in the first round and a third-place finish in the final. National coach Maximilian Michler was also satisfied: “To do such a competition with such marks and come in third place – congratulations and respect. Now she has to catch her breath and let everything sink in for the competition. If she gets a medal after this competition, she must be satisfied.”

Althaus already won her fourth medal at the 4th event in Planica, previously on the natural hill, and she flew to gold in the team and mixed team.

Althaus misses the gold record

Althaus also missed out on a record-setting gold. The 26-year-old could have won her eighth world title, previously achieved only by Austrian Thomas Morgenstern. In addition, Althaus was the only jumper who could collect four world championship titles in one world championship. That failed – but Althaus belongs in the select circle with Gregor Schlierenzauer, Thomas Morgenstern and Markus Eisenbichler, who have each won three World Cup gold medals.

Loutitt and Lundby – surprises in Gold and Silver

The world champion on the big hills was 19-year-old Alexandria Lottet, who jumped 134.5m and 136.5m, thus winning Canada’s first ski jumping medal since 1983. Prior to the World Championships, Lottet had competed in only 20 World Cups, He celebrated his victory in Zao, Japan, in January. Even then, she made history as the first Canadian to win the Ski Jumping World Cup.

Norway’s Maren Lundby won the silver: the former dominant, who has gone through a severe form crisis in the past year and a half, broke a record on a hill of 139.5 meters in the first round and finished second in the second round with a strength of 133.0 meters. .

Friday and Heisler on the 19th and 26th

Pauline Hessler and Selina Freytag just missed out on the top spots. World Mixed Team and Team Champion Freitag started the show jump with cautious podium hope, but fell victim to challenging wind conditions in the first round. With a tailwind and a bit of a running start, Freitag dropped after 110.0m and was 26th. With 124.0m in the final, she was able to improve by seven places and finished in 19th.

Hessler finished 26th in her World Championships debut with 106.0 and 115.0 metres, and after finishing 18th in the first round, she lost eight places in the final. Hessler also caught a bad wind and said after the competition on the sports show: “The conditions were very variable. It was windy on the first jump, snow came on the second. Bad luck, next time it will be better.”

Micheler: “Such a mess”

National coach Maximilian Michler turned his face both rounds and shook his head: “From our point of view, you would have to wait longer for everyone to jump in the same conditions. For everyone to have a tailwind or for everyone to have an updraft. And not such a mess.”the 39-year-old scolded after the first jump on the sports show.