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Winner Karl Geiger, here at the qualifying round in Klingenthal
Photo: Hendrik Schmidt / dpa
Ski jumper Karl Geiger has won the World Cup in Klingenthal and thus ensured the first German victory of the season in a thriller. The 30-year-old won by a razor-thin margin ahead of the Austrian Stefan Kraft and the Japanese Ryoyu Kobayashi, it was the first individual victory of a DSV eagle ever at a World Cup competition on the Saxon hill.
Geiger, who had led after the first round, flew in the final with 146.0 m to within half a meter of the twelve-year-old hill record of Michael Uhrmann. With this, Geiger left the previous season dominator Kraft (273.5) behind, who had won the first four competitions of the season.
First Geiger victory since the beginning of 2022
It was Geiger's 14th World Cup victory and his first since January 2022. It was a lot of fun," Geiger said on ARD. I never thought I'd win." National coach Stefan Horngacher was also enthusiastic. "Karl jumped exceptionally well today. He was super focused," he said. He really showed two great jumps." Looking at the entire team, Horngacher continued: "Great team, great atmosphere, great success!"
Olympic champion Andreas Wellinger, who had previously achieved the best German individual result in Klingenthal in 2013 by finishing second, confirmed his top form by finishing fourth (263.9). Pius Paschke, who was still third after the first round, was also convincing in fifth place just behind (263.8). Stephan Leyhe finished 14th, Martin Hamann, who had become German champion at the same venue in October, came in 29th.
aha/sid/dpa