Four Hills Tournament

Kraft wins Bischofshofen qualifier ahead of Ortner

Stefan Kraft(Bild: AP)

The Austrian ski jumpers have also dominated the qualification for the final Three Kings competition of the Four Hills Tournament. Tour leader Stefan Kraft jumped to a clear double victory ahead of Maximilian Ortner in Bischofshofen on Sunday. 

Daniel Tschofenig came fourth and Jan Hörl finished sixth. In front of thousands of fans, all eleven Austrians made it into the 50-man knockout competition on the Außerleitner hill.

Maximilian Ortner(Bild: APA/GEORG HOCHMUTH)

Kraft starts the tour final on Monday with only 0.6 points ahead of Hörl. Tschofenig is only 1.3 points behind Kraft in third place. The international competition is already more than 20 points off the podium. Gregor Deschwanden (142) from Switzerland, who finished fourth overall, came third in the qualification.

Kraft: "This strengthens the chest"
Innsbruck winner Kraft underlined his winning ambitions with a jump of 142 m. "That definitely strengthens the chest. When it works, it works. I've become more and more relaxed, that was a lot of fun. The fire is also burning in the qualifiers," said last year's Bischofshofen winner.

Daniel Tschofenig(Bild: GEPA)

Kraft beat Tschofenig (137) and Hörl (139) by more than nine points, the two did not have ideal qualifying jumps. "It was ok, but not really great. There is still a lot of potential, but I'm not that far away," said Tschofenig.

Jan Hörl(Bild: GEPA)

Hörl felt the same way. "I didn't get the edge, but I still managed to get something good out of it, which is fine," said Hörl. Kraft, however, is very strong and, as a former tour winner, has the least pressure. "We'll see if we can annoy the older man a bit tomorrow," said Hörl.