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Raimund triumphs on the normal hill in Predazzo
At the Olympic normal hill competition in Predazzo, Philipp Raimund secured the gold medal with two consistently strong jumps. Poland’s Kacper Tomasiak took silver, while Ren Nikaido and Gregor Deschwanden shared bronze. The event was marked by a tight intermediate standing and a thrilling final round.
The Olympic normal hill competition developed into an event with several changes in the lead and very small margins. In front of several thousand spectators in Predazzo, the jumping reached a high overall level. Some of the favourites were unable to transfer their training performances into the competition, while others seized their opportunity and moved into the spotlight. Once again, the event showed how crucial consistency in both rounds is for success in an Olympic individual competition.
In the first round, Philipp Raimund took the lead with a jump of 102 metres, giving himself a strong position for the final. The German secured the interim lead ahead of France’s Valentin Foubert, who surprisingly reached second place with the same distance. Behind them, the field was tightly packed. Only 5.6 points separated first place from eleventh, meaning the final round began with very small margins – typical for competitions on smaller hills.
Overall World Cup leader Domen Prevc had already shown in training and in the trial round that he was not fully comfortable on the normal hill. During the competition he was also unable to improve decisively, which meant he was no longer in contention for the medals after the first round.
The second round then turned into an open battle for the podium. Gregor Deschwanden set an early mark with a jump of 107 metres and initially took the lead. Shortly afterwards, Ren Nikaido matched him with 106.5 metres, putting both athletes jointly in first place for the time being. Polish youngster Kacper Tomasiak then surpassed them with a technically very clean jump of 107 metres and high style marks of up to 19.5, moving into the lead. At that point, a medal was within reach for him, with only three jumpers left to come.
Among them was Norway’s Kristoffer Eriksen Sundal, who had been considered a contender for the top positions after strong training performances. However, he was unable to cope with the pressure in the final and dropped from the podium places to tenth after his second jump.
Valentin Foubert was also unable to maintain his strong position from the first round. He lost ground in the final and eventually finished fifth.
Valentin Foubert was also unable to maintain his strong position from the first round. He lost ground in the final and eventually finished fifth.
Raimund was the last athlete to start. With 106.5 metres, he confirmed his strong first jump and once again showed that the hill in Predazzo suited him well. High style marks between 19.0 and 19.5 secured the decisive advantage and the Olympic gold medal on the normal hill. Tomasiak took silver, while Nikaido and Deschwanden shared bronze.
After the competition, relief, joy and visible emotions could be seen among the medal winners. Their reactions highlighted the importance of the moment and shaped the scenes following the final decision.