The new ski jumping season has started. Inauguration of the World Cup 2018/2019 took place on the hill of the name of Adam Małysz in Wisła. It was an extremely successful first team competition for Poles.
Poles are almost invincible in ski jumping. After finishing the career by Adam Małysz, our jumpers quickly proved that the Polish domination on the hills will last. It began with the success of Kamil Stoch. Currently, it’s not just Stoch, but the whole team is successful.
Polish jumpers have accustomed us to their high form. For example, last season, the Polish ski jumpers won the bronze medal in the team at the Olympics, and Kamil Stoch defended one gold in the individual competition. Our hopes before the start of the current season were very large because of that.
A preview of the good form
Despite the lottery conditions that accompanied jumpers during Friday’s qualifications (16 November) to the first individual competition of the season, which will take place on Sunday, the Poles showed that they are still strong. Dawid Kubacki took second place, and Piotr Zyla was 15th. The World Cup leader, Kamil Stoch, did not jump well. However, this was not the result of Stoch’s mistake, but of bad conditions. Conditions worsened so much that the last 10 jumpers, who were the best 10 of the last season, were not able to give a longer jump than 115 meters. Despite a poor jump, Stoch managed to qualify for the Sunday competition.
We are the champions!
Bad comments regarding Stoch’s or Żyły’s performance on Friday qualifiers were quickly silenced by them. On Saturday, November 16, the Poles showed that they are the kings of the hill. Our team immediately took the lead in the first round. Each of the Poles gave over 123-meter jump. The Polish team included: Kamil Stoch, Piotr Żyła, Dawid Kubacki, Jakub Wolny. Each of them did amazingly. Their jumps were on the same level and unrivaled to jumps of the other athletes.
Doubts were primarily dispelled by Kamil Stoch. Stoch returned to his form. The leader of our team showed up with a well-known side, that is, when we can always count on him. Poles won the first round of the competition and in the second installment of the competition they increased their lead, until the penultimate jump of the team.
Dawid Kubacki gave a slightly shorter jump than in the first series. In this way, the Germans managed not only to work on the starts, but also to overtake us by 4.1 points. The question of the victory of the Poles rested in the hands of Kamil Stoch, and because our master can always be counted, it was no different this time. Stoch jumped over 20 meters more than the distance required to achieve the competition. At Stoch’s 129-meter jump, the Germans could not answer anymore. In this way, the Poles won the entire competition.
One of the great surprises of the inaugural competition of the season was the absence of Norwegians in the 2nd round, which was due to the disqualification of Robert Johansson for an illegal suit.
What’s next?
The next jumping competition is on Sunday, November 18th. It will be the first individual competition of the season. After Sunday’s competition, we will also get to know the first leader of the general classification of the current season.
In the first individual competition of the season, the competitors start according to the classification on which they finished the competition in the previous season. The current leader is Kamil Stoch, who won last year’s general classification. Players’ points are, however, zeroed, so if Stoch does not win the Sunday competition, he will lose the leading position. Looking at the current disposition of Polish jumpers, after the Sunday competition, the leader’s shirt will probably stay in Polish hands.
