The success was overshadowed by a serious injury to Mario Seidl. The Salzburg man fractured his right kneecap during a very long jump with a hard landing. There is also a suspicion of a ligament injury.
“The return transport to Austria is currently being organized, where the injury to the kneecap will be treated surgically. It cannot currently be assessed whether there are further injuries to the knee,” said ÖSV doctor Lukas Pichler. An additional MRI examination in Austria should provide further information. Seidl, who had been plagued by injuries from previous years, had only recently returned to the World Cup team following a lengthy illness.
Lamparter secured his third win of the season in the final sprint, just ahead of Rettenegger. Overall it was the 13th for the Tyrolean. “It was very close, we’re on the same level at the moment. I had luck on my side today. We fought it out fairly, I’m happy that I won,” said Lamparter.
Rettenegger made it onto the podium for the ninth time this winter, his first victory is still pending. “Second place is also excellent. I’ll stick with it and do my homework, then the first places will come too,” said the Salzburg native and also thought of Seidl. “I hope he is proud of us. It hurts that such a good jump is punished like that.”
ÖSV coach Christoph Bieler was conflicted. “If you lose an athlete due to an injury, the sporting result cannot make up for it,” said Bieler. His athletes handled the drama surrounding Seidl excellently. “I can only take my hat off, I’m really proud. As far as the results go, it’s an incredibly great day.”
Third place went to the Estonian Kristjan Ilves, almost a minute behind the ÖSV duo, who were also ahead in the jumping. The next best Austrians were Franz-Josef Rehrl, Martin Fritz and Thomas Rettenegger in places eight to ten. With Oslo and Trondheim, there are still two stops left before the end of the season, where serial winner Riiber will also be there once more.
