Lilllehammer: two Finns dominate the competition!

Friday was a great day for the Finnish team: in the HS 134 event in Lillehammer Matti Hautamaeki won his fourth competition in a row, while his compatriot Janne Ahonen secured his overall title after finishing fourth. Second and third place on the podium were taken by the Norwegians, Sigurd Pettersen and Lars Bystoel.

Nobody could expect such final results after the first round. With a jump of 131 metres, Matti Hautamaeki went sixth after Rok Benkovic. When Janne Ahonen, soared to a remarkable 137 metres and got very good marks from the judges, it seemed obvious that the World Cup leader would win the competition and retain his overall title with ease. But in the second leg, Hautamaeki did his best and stretched his lead after an impressive jump of 135 metres. Other jumpers just couldn't get near this distance: initially third, Roar Ljoekelsoey jumped only 123 metres and dropped in the standings. Sigurd Pettersen's 126 metres put him into second, ahead of Lars Bystoel, whose second-round effort of 128,5 metres propelled him into third place.

The only one who could stop Hautamaeki from winning the fourth competition in succession was Janne Ahonen, but in unfavourable wind conditions, he managed to jump only 122,5 metres, which was enough to secure his overall World Cup victory, but not enough for the podium. Ahonen finished in fourth place, while Matti Hautamaeki made his fourth consecutive victory with a total of 281.3 points.

The event in Lillehammer wasn't lucky for all jumpers from Finnish team: sixth in Kuopio, Risto Jussilainen made a feeble jump of 102 metres and finished in 47th place. Poland's Adam Małysz also recorded a very poor performance: his 22nd place in Lillehammer is the worst one in the whole World Cup season. However, he still has chances to enter the top three of the World Cup overall.

The World Cup continues on Sunday, with a HS 128 event in Oslo- Holmenkollen.