The places eleven and 14 at the showdown of the Nordic Combined in Lahti do not correspond to the performance of Johannes Lamparter, but there was no reason for the 21-year-old Tyrolean to get angry. On the contrary. This time he only jumped as high as he had to in order to fulfill his childhood dream of the big crystal ball.
Lamparter is the first Austrian overall World Cup triumphant since 2002. At that time, Felix Gottwald was the champion and his successor was just five months old. “It’s really crazy, it’s pure emotion to have the ball now, it’s the reward for all the hard training and investment, it’s wonderful,” said Lamparter, who thanked his support staff.
“I’m really happy about the ball. It gets a very special place at home.” Because it means even more to him than his two world championship titles from Oberstdorf in 2021. Crystal is confirmation of the enormous consistency throughout the season, of which the Seefeld triple stood out. “I’m really proud of that because I had to deal with a lot of pressure and showed that I could still perform,” said Lamparter.
The day’s wins at the weekend in Finland went to Jarl Magnus Riiber, who already has 57 World Cup successes to his credit.
Showdown on your favorite hill
Ski jumper Stefan Kraft is also in a good mood, having won the team competition at the World Cup in Lahti together with Michael Hayböck, Daniel Tschofenig and Jan Hörl. To top it all off, there was a second place for Kraft in today’s individual competition, which was decided in just one round due to strong wind conditions.
A little more than four points separated the man from Salzburg from his 30th victory, while the Japanese Ryoyu Kobayashi triumphed. Tschofenig finished fourth behind third-placed German Karl Geiger. The Theninger Hayböck also placed sixth in the top field.
The season ends this week with ski flying in Planica. “It comes at exactly the right time. Planica is my favorite hill, I’m looking forward to the final,” said Kraft, who advanced to second place in the overall World Cup (behind shot winner Halvor Egner Granerud). The 29-year-old has overtaken Dawid Kubacki, who has been absent since a medical emergency.
The Poles won’t care. Much more important is the health of his wife, who is stable after a life-threatening cardiological emergency and is making progress every day. That’s the best news.
