Four Hills: Swiss jumper Kuettel wins round two

Switzerland's Andreas Kuettel won the second stop of the Four Hills ski-jumping tournament Monday after downpours and gusts canceled the second run.

GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, Germany — Switzerland's Andreas Kuettel won the second stop of the Four Hills ski-jumping tournament Monday after downpours and gusts canceled the second run.
    Kuettel jumped 125.5 meters and earned 135.9 points to beat Matti Hautamaki by 2.9 points after the Finn leaped 125.0 in the World Cup meet. Japan's Noriaki Kasai was third at 132.9 with a jump of 128.0 and low judges' marks for form.
    Kuettel moved 3.0 points behind Gregor Schlierenzauer of Austria for the Four Hills overall lead. Schlierenzauer, 16, led by 9.5 after easily winning Oberstdorf's first leg of the sport's most prestigious tournament Saturday.
    ''I can't say anything about the decision to cancel the jump, although it was rough conditions out there,'' Kuettel said. ''But naturally it's great for me.''
    The jumpers complained of dangerous conditions and skewed results from the first jump due to shifting winds and ruts on the jump hill. Kasai's third-place finish came after he hadn't earned a World Cup point all season.
    Schlierenzauer's 123.0 jump gave him fourth place and 425.4 points in the Four Hills standings, with Kuettel at 422.4 and Norway's Anders Jacobsen third at 407.8.
    Schlierenzauer leads the overall World Cup standings with 460 points to Jacobsen's 441. Switzerland's Simon Ammann has 418.
    The ski jump at Garmisch-Partenkirchen will be torn down and replaced for next year's Four Hills with a modern facility.

— The Associated Press

World Cup ski-jumping results
GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, Germany — Results Monday from a World Cup ski-jumping meet and the second stop of the Four Hills tournament (jump distances in parentheses; second jump canceled because of weather):
1. Andreas Kuettel, Switzerland, 135.9 points (125.5 meters).
2. Matti Hautamaki, Finland, 133.0 (125.0).
3. Noriaki Kasai, Japan, 132.9 (128.0).
4. Gregor Schlierenzauer, Austria, 129.4 (123.0).
5. Anders Jacobsen, Norway, 128.1 (122.0).
(tie) Arttu Lappi, Finland, 128.1 (122.0).
(tie) Bjorn Einar Romoren, Norway, 128.1 (122.0).
8. Martin Schmitt, Germany, 127.6 (122.0).
9. Andreas Kofler, Austria, 124.9 (120.5).
(tie) Michael Uhrmann, Germany, 124.9 (120.5).
11. Thomas Morgenstern, Austria, 124.7 (124.0).
12. Adam Malysz, Poland, 123.9 (120.5).
13. Jakub Janda, Czech Republic, 123.5 (120.0).
14. Dmitriy Vassiliyev, Russia, 122.2 (121.5).
15. Roman Koudelka, Czech Republic, 119.8 (118.5).
16. Janne Ahonen, Finland, 118.4 (118.0).
17. Dmitriy Ipatov, Russia, 118.3 (118.5).
18. Simon Ammann, Switzerland, 118.0 (117.5).
19. Nikolai Karpenko, Kazakhstan, 116.9 (118.0).
20. Anders Bardal, Norway, 116.7 (116.5).

Four Hills standings (after 2 of 4 events)
1. Gregor Schlierenzauer, Austria, 460 points.
2. Anders Jacobsen, Norway, 441.
3. Simon Ammann, Switzerland, 418.
4. Andreas Kuettel, Switzerland, 386.
5. Adam Malysz, Poland, 258.
(tie) Arttu Lappi, Finland, 258.
7. Thomas Morgenstern, Austria, 203.
8. Matti Hautamaki, Finland, 199.
9. Wolfgang Loitzl, Austria, 160.
10. Janne Ahonen, Finland, 155.