- Gregor Deschwanden and Simone Ammann, 15th and 21st, ensure a good start from a Swiss perspective at the start of the Four Hills Championship.
- Andreas Fellinger jumps to victory at home in front of 25,000 fans in Oberstdorf.
- The German defeated Japan's Ryuu Kobayashi and World Cup leader Stefan Kraft of Austria.
The cheering in the end zone knew no bounds – in front of a stunning backdrop and 25,000 fans, Andreas Wellinger jumped out to hit the winning home run at the start of the Four Hills Tournament in Oberstdorf, Germany. The 2018 Olympic champion, Japan's Ryoyu Kobayashi, and Austria's World Cup leader, Stefan Kraft, were relegated to the remaining positions with a final jump of 139.5 metres.
Gregor Deschwanden was not so lucky in these circumstances. He was very motivated after a disappointing qualification in the knockout duel against Slovenian Timi Zajec and got a taste of the top 10 after a strong jump over 124 meters (11th intermediate position).
A strong tailwind – the most difficult conditions of all 30 final jumpers – allowed him to return to the ground very quickly at the finish (122 metres). The 32-year-old from Horo will have to remain fairly content with 15th place.
Jubilant Aman narrowly misses the top twenty
Simon Ammann was very happy at the end, with the 42-year-old beaming after the final as he did in his finest hour. In fact, the veteran performed well, as his jump of 134 meters was enough to take him 21st place. The participant of the 25th round must have been especially happy to qualify for the final – in the knockout round he beat the favorite Daniel Chovenig (Austria).
The other two Swiss did not qualify for the finals. Remo Imhof was narrowly deprived of this place in the final match of the knockout duel against Domaine Prevc (SLO). He lost the round and narrowly missed out on one of the five lucky losing positions despite finishing 29th. Kylian Paire was disappointing against Dawid Kubacki (POL) and had no chance.
A bitter setback for the defending champion
A large number of fans in Oberstdorf witnessed the biggest upset of the knockout round. Aigner lost to Halvor Granerud (NOR), the dominant overall winner of last year's Four Hills Championship, in a duel with Italian Giovanni Presadola.
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