Again Second: Freitag Must Wait for Her First Victory

During the WM-Generalprobe in Hinzenbach, Germany’s best female ski jumper Selina Freitag continued her impressive run of podium finishes. However, despite jumping 91.0 and 91.5 meters – distances that were longer than Nika Prevc’s 90.0 and 89.0 meters – she was edged out by Prevc’s superior landing and consistency, resulting in a points total of 240.5 compared to Prevc’s 248.2. This marks the seventh time in her career that Freitag has finished in second place, as she has previously had similar results on two occasions in Ljubno over the past weekend.

Freitag had won the qualification round on Saturday morning quite convincingly, adding a third qualification victory following her successes in Lillehammer and Garmisch-Partenkirchen earlier this season. In addition to Freitag and Prevc, Jacqueline Seifriedsberger (from Austria) secured third place. World Champion Katharina Schmid, who is less comfortable on the smaller hill in the Hausruckviertel region, finished in ninth place just days before the World Championships in Trondheim (scheduled from February 26 to March 9). Meanwhile, Juliane Seyfarth dropped from sixth to twelfth place in her second round, and younger competitors such as 20-year-old Emely Torazza (20th) and Luisa Görlich (22nd) also competed.

The final jump before the World Championships will take place on Sunday at 14:20 in Hinzenbach. The individual competition on the normal hill in Trondheim, featuring title defender Katharina Schmid, is set for the following Friday, followed by the team medal events the next day, where the German women will defend their world champion status.