Wellinger wows German crowd with Oberstdorf win, Granerud shock
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Germany's Andreas Wellinger won the first event of ski-jumping's Four Hills Tournament on home snow in Oberstdorf on Friday, his first victory in the famous competition and this season.
German fans were out in force in Oberstdorf, with the stands packed full of flag-waving spectators despite the last overall Four Hills champion from Germany being Sven Hannawald in 2001-02.
They were cheered by Wellinger, 28, leading at the halfway stage after jumping last in the first round with a formidable distance of 139.5 metres on the large hill.
He backed it up in the second round, winning with 309.3 points overall with a second distance of 128 m.
"I am a bit speechless. It is unbelievable. I was really happy with the first jump. To win in front of these fans, it's indescribable," Wellinger told ARD.
"I am very proud after all the work in recent years."
Twice Four Hills champion Ryoyu Kobayashi from Japan was second on 306.3 and World Cup leader Stefan Kraft of Austria came in third.
Local Oberstdorf hero Karl Geiger, who won there in 2020, could only finish seventh.
Defending Four Hills champion Halvor Egner Granerud from Norway was eliminated in the first round after a jump of just 105.5 m, summing up his poor season so far. He won three Four Hills events last season.
He was not helped by the Four Hills using a different qualification system to other World Cup events, with jumpers pairing off and the 25 winners plus the five lucky losers going through to the second round.
The highlight of the men's World Cup ski-jumping season takes place in four venues in Germany and Austria over the next week.
"It was the perfect start for Andi," Germany coach Stefan Horngacher said.
The ski jumpers now head to Garmisch-Partenkichen in Germany for the second Four Hills event on January 1. They move to Austria for the Innsbruck jumps on January 3 before the tournament concludes in Bischofshofen on January 6.
The Four Hills also counts towards the overall World Cup, which runs until March.
