Thriller in Oberstdorf

Team competition LIVE: Austria loses the lead

Stephan Embacher(Bild: GEPA)

The Austrian Ski Federation (ÖSV) ski jumpers have once again missed out on their first Ski Flying World Championship team title since 2012, winning silver at Kulm as they did two years ago. Stephan Embacher, Stefan Kraft, Manuel Fettner, and Jan Hörl were beaten by Japan by 9.6 points in Oberstdorf on Sunday.

Bronze went to Norway, 85.9 points behind. Defending champions Slovenia fell behind after a curious incident involving the superior individual world champion Domen Prevc in the first round and finished sixth.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Screenshot ORF)

Both of Prevc's skis slipped past the Norwegian Marius Lindvik, who was ready to start, during the fourth starting group, sliding downhill from the jump tower over the inrun track. One of the skis reached the end of the jump at high speed. Because the skis were not returned to Prevc in time after the incident, the serial winner was not allowed to compete.

"Shock," but no disqualification after faux pas
According to FIS officials, the skis that Prevc had left in an unauthorized place during the pre-start equipment check suddenly took off on their own. "It was a big shock. We haven't seen anything like this happen in decades. It was his own fault, but of course you don't want that to happen to an athlete," said FIS equipment manager Andreas Bauer. He emphasized that Prevc had not broken any rules and would therefore be allowed to start in the second round.

(Bild: GEPA)

The Slovenians, who were clearly behind Austria and Japan in third place before the faux pas, were eliminated from the medal race due to Prevc's zero points. The ÖSV quartet, on the other hand, was already 3.9 points behind Japan in second place after the first round. In the final, the Austrians turned the tables for a while. The battle for gold ultimately culminated in a 0.4-point lead for Austria in a duel between Hörl and Ren Nikaido, in which the fourth-placed individual from Salzburg (216 m) was clearly outdone by Saturday's bronze medalist (229).

Hörl disappointed after losing the duel for gold
"It was very close, but I was just a little too tense today. I wanted to show that I'm flying very well, but it didn't quite work out. It was very exciting, my heart was in my mouth," Hörl told ORF, praising the Japanese, who finished on the podium for the first time in World Championship history. "They did a really good job, so they deserve to be world champions." Despite missing out on the gold medal, he emphasized that the World Championships had been a success for him.

Jan Hörl(Bild: GEPA)

His teammates were also happy with silver. "It's really cool, a medal at my first World Championships is something very special," said Embacher. In any case, Japan was a worthy winner. "They did a brutally good job and deserved to win." Veteran Fettner was also not particularly disappointed. "It's definitely a silver medal won, not a gold medal lost, because there was definitely nothing to be gained today," said the Tyrolean. You can only take your hat off to the Japanese, added Fettner.

Kraft also satisfied with silver
World champion Kraft, who was dethroned by Prevc the day before, was also able to come to terms with the "defeat." "It's a shame, of course, but silver is also very nice. If things go badly, you can also finish fourth. It turned into a two-man fight that was very, very exciting, with the Japanese simply letting one after the other out," said Kraft, adding: "Leaving with a medal is always nice." Since winning the World Championship title in 2012, Austria had come away empty-handed three times in team competitions, winning bronze in Kulm in 2016 and most recently silver in Bad Mitterndorf in 2024 behind Slovenia.

Stefan Kraft(Bild: GEPA)

Before the Olympic Games, for which Hörl, Kraft, Embacher, and Daniel Tschofenig are very likely to be nominated on Monday, there is still a World Cup on the large hill scheduled for this coming weekend. Tschofenig was not selected for the ski flying team after finishing 27th in the individual event.