Finnish Ski Jumper Ahonen Wins Again

By Published On: January 1st, 2005Comments Off on Finnish Ski Jumper Ahonen Wins Again

Finnish Ski Jumper Ahonen Wins AgainGARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, Germany — Janne Ahonen captured the second straight leg of the prestigious Four Hills tour Saturday, another victory in a practically flawless season so far for the Finnish ski jumper.

Ahonen won for the ninth time in 10 World Cup events. Austria’s Thomas Morgenstern was second and Germany’s Georg Spaeth was third. Ahonen’s 27th career victory extended his lead in the overall World Cup standings. He has 980 points, with the Czech Republic’s Jakub Janda second at 517.

“I’m so happy right now,” Ahonen said. “Everything is fantastic.”

The Finn, who won the Four Hills opener at Oberstdorf, soared off one of the world’s oldest hills with leaps of 124.0 and 128.0 meters, by far the day’s longest two jumps. He survived a near spill on his second effort, landing meters ahead of any other jumper and scraping the snow before righting himself.

“It was very close,” said Ahonen, who missed the hill record by 1.5 meters. “It was difficult because I came down so high it was difficult to stand.”

Ahonen was docked points for style because he nearly crashed. He was awarded 260.1 points, just six ahead of Morgenstern, despite the distance of his leaps. Morgenstern leaped 119.5 and 122.5, with Spaeth going 120.5 and 118.5. -The Associated Press

Share This Article

About the Author: Pete Rugh