Painful Opening of the World Cup for Poles! But There is One Positive

The Polish team secured a seventh place in the mixed team competition that marked the start of this year's World Cup season in ski jumping, held in Lillehammer. Germany took the victory, followed by Norway and Austria. Although the Polish result is not particularly encouraging, there is a positive spin—Paweł Wąsek demonstrated excellent form, achieving the farthest jump during the competition.

The countdown has ended! On Friday, Lillehammer saw the inauguration of the season with training rounds held prior to the main event. One of these rounds brought a glimmer of hope for Polish fans, as Aleksander Zniszczoł and Paweł Wąsek finished seventh and eighth respectively.

As expected, this duo was selected by coach Thomas Thurnbichler to participate in the mixed event. Meanwhile, Marcin Bachleda nominated Nicole Konderla and Anna Twardosz for their roles.

The Polish competitors struggled against their rivals, particularly the female athletes. In the first round, Konderla managed only 88.5 meters, while Twardosz achieved 102.5 meters.

Thanks to good jumps from the male competitors, Poland remained in contention for the second round. Wąsek excelled with a jump of 130 meters, and Zniszczoł performed adequately with 123 meters. As they headed into the second half, the Polish team stood in seventh place, with Germany at the lead.

Unfortunately, the female competitors could not significantly improve in the second series. Konderla landed at 97 meters, while Twardosz slightly lagged behind.

Wąsek performed impressively again, achieving a jump of 132.5 meters, outperforming competitors like Andreas Wellinger, who was anticipated to be a strong contender this season. In contrast, Zniszczoł faced challenging conditions, resulting in a jump of only 115 meters.

Ultimately, the Polish team finished in seventh place, with Germany emerging as the winners, followed by Norway and Austria.