Germany secure ‘perfect’ Mixed Team World Cup victory in Lillehammer

LARGE HILL MIXED TEAM IN SUMMARY

As is traditional with the mixed competition, the women took to the hill first.

20-year old Tetiana Pyltpchuk (UKR) had the honour of opening the season and managed to clear 70m, which attained 25.9 points.

The scores would increase significantly from that point with Germany (137.6), Austria (130.9) and Norway (120.2) occupying the top three positions after the first jumps.

An impressive jump from Daniel Tschofenig (AUT) measured 124.5m, which helped Austria claim the top spot after completion of the second jumps.

At this stage, the top-three nations looked well-established, but Slovenia boasted the reigning women’s crystal globe winner, Nika Prevc (SLO). She secured a stunning score of 87 points for her 138m jump, allowing her nation to re-enter contention.

The USA had expected to be in the mix for a place in the second round, however, a zip malfunction on Tate Frantz’s suit prevented him from taking to the gate, meaning the USA’s bid ended early.

After the completion of the jumps in the opening round, Germany led with 551.2 points, 8.9 ahead of Norway, and Austria was in third (12.7 back).

However, a Norwegian protest was upheld and Anna Odine Stroem (NOR) had her jump upgraded to 123m, which following a readjustment of the scores saw her nation trail Germany by just 3.5 points, rather than the initial 8.9.

Slovenia (519.2) was 32 points off the lead in fourth, ahead of fellow qualifiers Japan, Finland, Poland, and France, with Ukraine, USA, and Italy eliminated.

In a short mid-session interview, Pius Paschke (GER) praised his female teammates for doing a “really good job” and stated he felt he and male teammate Wellinger had been “solid” so far.

They continued in much the same vein of form in round two.

Buoyed by their score in the first, Germany continued to maintain their lead round after round with the Norwegian quartet of Stoem, Kristoffer Eriksen Sundal, Eirin Maria Kvandal, and Marius Lindvik strengthening their case for second position.

Legendary champion Sara Takanashi (JPN) and Italy’s summer Grand Prix champion Lara Malsiner (ITA) showcased their individual potential at the weekend with strong performances in the team event, but their nations fell short in combined totals.

Prevc (SLO) once again gave Slovenia hope with the highest-scoring jump of the day (89.7 points) after traveling 139.5m.

Ultimately, they finished fourth as Jan Hoerl (AUT) did enough with his final jump to secure Austria third on the podium behind winners Germany and Norway.