Victory for Norway

ÖSV eagles take second place in Lahti team event

Austria's ski jumpers have finished second in the World Cup team competition in Lahti! The ÖSV quartet of Daniel Tschofenig, Stephan Embacher, Jan Hörl and Stefan Kraft were only beaten by Norway by 25.7 points on Saturday, with third place going to Germany. 

The Austrians had won the only classic World Cup team competition so far this season a month and a half ago in Zakopane. This time, however, the Norwegians, led by Johann Andre Forfang, who managed the highest distance of the day in the first round with 135.5 meters, could not be beaten.

Hörl once again the strongest ÖSV jumper
In extremely difficult wind conditions, Hörl, the best Austrian in the individual competition on Friday in fifth place, once again proved to be the strongest ÖSV jumper with jumps of 131 and 134 meters. One day after his tenth place, the 18-year-old Embacher put on his next test of talent and managed 126.5 and 120.5 meters. Tschofenig jumped a similar distance (120 and 126 meters), Kraft had no luck with the wind as on Friday. Only 49th the day before, the overall World Cup leader landed at 122 and 122.5 meters.

Here is the final score:

"The Norwegians were simply very strong!"
Nevertheless, Kraft's summary was positive. "The jumps were very solid. It's always difficult to assess when it's a windy competition. We certainly needed a little bit of luck, but we are satisfied and had eight solid jumps. The Norwegians were simply very strong and coped well with the conditions, so we are very happy with second place," explained the man from Salzburg. Tschofenig expressed a similar opinion. "We put in a confident performance. We lacked a bit of luck to reach the top."

On Sunday, the Lahti weekend will be concluded with an individual competition from the large hill. "The stupid jump yesterday is out of my head. Tomorrow I definitely have to step on the gas," said Kraft. The Raw Air at Holmenkollen in Oslo continues next week. The third and final men's team competition of this World Cup season will take place on March 23rd on the ski flying hill in Planica.