Stefan Kraft tragically missed out on overall victory at the 73rd Four Hills Tournament. After the competition, the Austrian expresses clear criticism of the jury's decisions.
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- Stefan Kraft misses out on overall victory in the Four Hills Tournament after a difficult last jump, as he has to wait on the beam for several minutes due to poor wind conditions.
- In the end, the veteran had to settle for third place. Kraft criticizes the jury for their decisions, which in his opinion were not optimal.
- Daniel Tschofenig, who took the overall victory, shows understanding for Kraft and emphasizes that he also deserved to win.
Stefan Kraft, who was still in the lead after the first run of the final competition in Bischofshofen, was slowed down by the freshening wind. Due to the difficult conditions, he had to hold out on the beam for several minutes, which ultimately dropped him back to third place.
"The jury always does the same thing: they start too high and then get into trouble. We (top jumpers) always jump from gate 10 or 11, and then the others start from gate 13 or 14," explained the 31-year-old, visibly annoyed, in an interview with Eurosport.
"It's not funny"
At first, everything pointed to Kraft's second tour victory. He went into the competition as the overall leader and was still in the lead after the first round. However, the wind conditions deteriorated considerably before his final jump, forcing Kraft to test his patience.
"It's no fun waiting 15 minutes in your boots and ski boots at the top. It's bad for the legs, which have to be explosive - and this explosiveness is then lost," said the man from Salzburg later.
With his jump of 137.5 meters, Kraft was unable to maintain the lead. His teammate Daniel Tschofenig shone in the second round with a jump of 140.5 meters and overtook him. Jan Hörl also overtook Kraft, who ultimately had to settle for third place. When asked about the fairness of the conditions, Kraft replied curtly: "No."
Twice out of luck
However, he does not want to accuse the jury of malicious intent. "I always say to myself: thanks for waiting. They wait until the conditions are better or optimal. You always have that in the back of your mind," explains Kraft, adding: "When the green light comes, you naturally go full throttle. I think it was a solid jump."
But on this day, "solid" was not enough. "It just wasn't meant to be. I was really unlucky twice. It's tough to be out of luck twice," said Kraft, summing up his disappointment.
While Daniel Tschofenig realized his dream by winning the gold eagle, he showed sympathy for his teammate. "I really feel sorry for him. I would have hated to be up there and have to wait so long. I don't know what the right decision would have been," says Tschofenig and adds: "He would have deserved the golden eagle. He was one of the best here."