COC-M: Stefan Kraft wins season opener
After the cancellation of the competitions in Erzurum (TUR) the Continental Cup season 2012/13 started this weekend in Kazakhstan. And the first winner this winter is Stefan Kraft.
The 19-year-old Silver medalist of the Junior World Championships 2011 was already in the lead after the first round with the longest jump of the day on 136.5 m and captured his third win in the COC with yet another strong jump on 133.5 m in the final (261.5 points).
"It's my first time in Almaty, the conditions here are perfect and the organization is very good. I'm very satisfied with the result and my two jumps were good today", told Kraft.
The second place in this season's opening event went to Klemens Muranka with 131.5 m and 128.5 m (245.5 points). With this performance the young Pole was only 0.2 points better than David Zauner of Austria (132.5 m and 131 m). For both jumpers this was their career-best in the COC.
Muranka and Zauner were both satisfied with their results, although especially the Austrian still sees room for improvement. "I had some problems with the landings, but it was a good experience and I'll work on that tomorrow."
With Vegard Swensen and Ole Marius Ingvaldsen the two best Norwegians finished fourth and fifth, followed by the best German, Tobias Bogner, as sixth. After the first round also Martin Schmitt was on his way to achieve another top result for the German team. But with a weak jump and a fall the veteran fell back from fourth to 26th place.
Matic Kramarsic was the of the Slovenian team as seventh, the Top 10 were completed by Aleksander Zniszczol of Poland, Austrian Thomas Diethart and Andraz Pograjc of Slovenia.
Maximilian Mechler of Germany was fourth in this competition, but was later disqualified because the air permeability of his suit was not according to the rules.