Engelberg: two hill records in a row

In the first World Cup event in Engelberg, the 'flying Finn' Janne Ahonen won for the sixth time this season, after two jumps of 141 and 137,5 metres. Austria's Thomas Morgenstern was second (136,5 and 137,5 metres), while Jakub Janda, after a shorter jump in the second round, finished third (139 and 134,5 metres). Two Poles, Adam Małysz and Robert Mateja, entered the top 30 and finished respectively in 8th and 18th place.

Because of changing wind, today's weather conditions weren't equal for all ski jumpers. However, some of competitors have made good use of them: that was the case of Matti Hautamaeki, who edged out Thomas Morgenstern and Martin Hoellwarth (both 136,5 metres) with his 137-metre-leap and was guaranteed a place in the top three of the first round. Then Jakub Janda, after a huge effort of 139 metres, bettered the hill record and took the lead. Janne Ahonen floated further: with his amazing 141 metres, within a span of seconds, he set a new hill record, but lost marks for technique and settled for second place.

In the second round, to ensure the safety of competitors, the launch was moved down and the jumps were much shorter. Thomas Morgenstern, fifth after the first leg, jumped 137,5 metres and finished the competition in second place. In his second attempt, Janne Ahonen didn't manage to improve his landing, but the distance was enough- his 137,5 metres let him win with Janda, whose second-round effort of 134,5 metres was good for third place.

Polish fans may be satisfied with performances of two Poles. Robert Mateja made two consistent jumps of 121 and 123 metres and finished 18th, whereas Adam Małysz, jumping in quite unfavourable weather conditions in the first leg, jumped 134 metres. His second attempt of 135 metres let him hold his good, 8th place.

It seems that the shape of Martin Schmitt, who appeared in Engelberg after a period of intensive training, is still not stable. In today's competition, after a feeble effort of 105,5 metres, he finished in 41. position.

Victorious in 1993, 1999 and 2002, Ahonen earned his fourth victory in Engelberg and sixth in this World Cup season. In the WC standings, he leads with 272 points over Jakub Janda.