Two competitions were held on the first day of the Continental Cup season final in Zakopane, the second one was a replacement for one of the competitions of the canceled COC-weekend in Chaikovsky (RUS) which was originally planned for late March.
In the first competition on the HS 140 hill, Ziga Jelar once again presented himself in great shape in the COC. With jumps of 137.5 m and 131.5 m and 283.6 points, he took his third win in the year 2022 with a lead of almost 20 points.
The second place went to Austria’s Thomas Lackner, who posted jumps of 132.5 m and 130 m and scored a total of 265.2 points.
Jelar’s teammate Bor Pavlovcic finished third with his jumps of 136 m and 126 m and 263.4 points, it was his first podium in the Continental Cup in about two years.
The best German jumper was Philipp Raimund in fourth, Austria’s David Haagen and local hero Maciej Kot followed in fifth and sixth place. With Anze Semenic (7th) and Jan Bombek (10th), two more Slovenian athletes finished in the Top 10, the strong team result of Austria was completed by Hannes Landerer and Markus Mueller in eighth and ninth.
After a short break the second competition of the day was held, in which the Austrians could celebrate a 1-2 finish. A few hours after finishing second, 28-year-old Thomas Lackner claimed his first-ever win in the Continental Cup with 136 m and 133 m and 300.6 points.
His compatriot David Haaben also achieved the best result of his career so far. He came in second with 134.5 m and 131 m and a total of 292.0 points and stood on the podium for the first time in a COC competition.
Philipp Raimund of Germany narrowly missed the podium earlier today, but this time he made the Top 3 for the fifth time this season in third with 136.5 m and 130.5 m and 291.2 points.
Ziga Jelar ended up fourth this time and with Jan Bombek (6th), Bor Pavlovcic (8th), and Zak Mogel (9th) four Slovenenes finished among the best ten jumpers again. Joacim Oedegaard Bjoereng was fifth, Maciej Kot was the best Pole again in seventh.
Before the season’s final competition on Sunday (11:30 am CET), Thomas Lackner has now taken the lead in the overall ranking with 978 points. Joacim Oedegaard Bjoereng (947 points) and Ulrich Wohlgenannt (798 points) follow in second and third.
