Polish ski jumper Piotr Žyla defended his world champion title in the intermediate bridge after attacking from 13th place after the first round in Planica, Slovenia, on February 25, 2023.
Planica (Slovenia) – Polish ski jumper Piotr Žyla defended his world champion title on the intermediate bridge after attacking from 13th place after the first round. The Czech jumpers did not succeed in the race in the changeable conditions in Planica. Roman Koudelka took 46th place, Radek Rýdl was two places worse and the competition ended for them after the first round.
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Photo gallery: 2023 WC Classic Skiing in Planica
Thirty-six-year-old Žyla hit an ideal jump in the sentence final and flew to the 105-meter mark. He significantly improved on his opening round performance of 97.5m and his longest attempt of the day could not be duplicated. Second and third place from the first round were defended by the Germans Andreas Wellinger, who added a meter to the performance of 101 meters from the 1st round, and Karl Geiger (100 and 101.5).
“I prepared a lot for today. I had a plan – to train, to qualify, most of all to be calm, not to waste energy. I thought that today would be my day. And then the first jump came,” a moved Žyla described in a television interview his disappointment from the first half of the race. “I didn't even believe it anymore, I thought nothing would come of it. But I kept trying to concentrate and in the end I managed it,” he added.
Žyla was able to defend the gold on the middle bridge as the first jumper after twenty years. The last time his compatriot Adam Malysz managed to do this was in 2001 and 2003.
The lead from the first half of the competition was not defended by the Austrian Stefan Kraft. In the second round, he flew only 99 meters, and in the end, he was 0.4 points away from the thirteenth World Championship medal in his career in fourth place. Favorite World Cup leader Halvor Egner Granerud of Norway finished tenth.
The Czech jumpers did not succeed in the opening round. Koudelka performed a jump of 90 meters and was 12.1 points short of the top 30 for the second round. Rýdl did jump a meter further, but it was only enough for third place from the end.
World Championships in Classic Skiing in Planica (Slovenia):
Running :
Women – skiathlon 2×7.5 km: 1. Anderssonová 38:11.8, 2. Karlssonová (both Swedes) -22.0, 3. Slindová (Nor.) -48.0, 4. Hennigová (German) – 53.3, 5. Niskanenová -56.3, 6. Pärmäkoskiová (both Finland) -1:22.1, …13. Razýmová -1:46.3, 33. Janatová (both Czech Republic) -4:33.7.
Nordic combination:
Men – intermediate bridge /10 km: 1. Riiber (Nor.) 24:36.3, 2. Schmid (Germany) -19.4, 3. Rehrl (Austria) -21.0, 4. Geiger -41.4, 5 Faisst (both German) -42.1, 6. Ilves (Est.) -45.1, …21. Pažout -2:07.4, 25. Persevered -2:29.3, 34. Konvalinka 3:59.8, Portyk (all Czech) disqualified.
Jumps:
Men – middle bridge: 1. Žyla (Pol.) 261.8 b. (97.5+105 m), 2. Wellinger 259.2 (101+102), 3. Geiger (both Germany) 257.7 (100+101.5), 4. Kraft (Austria) 257.3 (102.5+99), 5. Kubacki 256.9 (97+102), 6. Stoch (both Pol .) 256.3 (99+102), …46. Koudelka 104.5 (90), 48. Rýdl (both (Czech Republic) 102.9 (91).
Women – teams: 1. Germany 843.8 b. (Ruprechtová, Görlichová, Freitagová, Althausová ), 2. Austria 831.1 (Kreuzerová, Mühlbacherová, Seifriedsbergerová, Pinkelnigová), 3. Norway 828.6 (Lundbyová, Kvandalová, Björsethová, Strömová), 4. Slovenia 819.1, 5. Japan 804.2, 6. Canada 705.2.
