Späth, Kaltenböck win Continental Cup events

The latest competitions in the FIS ski jumping Continental Cup took place Aug. 4-5 in Oberstdorf, Germany. Seventy-seven jumpers from 17 different nations participated, as some were fighting for a ticket to the FIS Grand Prix ski jumping in Hinterzarten.
THE LATEST COMPETITIONS in the FIS ski jumping Continental Cup took place Aug. 4-5 in Oberstdorf, Germany. Seventy-seven jumpers from 17 different nations participated, as some were fighting for a ticket to the FIS Grand Prix ski jumping in Hinterzarten.
    In Saturday’s evening competition, local hero Georg Späth, who lives only meters from the hill, showed his prowess and won clearly ahead of Bastian Kaltenböck of Austria. Kaltenböck lost the connection cord between the shoes and the binding during his second jump and couldn’t challenge Späth for the victory. On Sunday, Kaltenböck prevailed before ahead of Späth and 17-year-old Shohhei Tochimoto of Japan. After five events, Kaltenböck leads the COC standings with 340 points ahead of Slovenia’s Primoz Pikl (280 points) and Japan’s Keita Umezaki (219).
    The women’s FIS Continental Cup series, in existence since the 2004-05 season, will start in Bischofsgrün, Germany, on Aug. 12. The summer part of the series includes a total of eight competitions in Germany, Austria and the United States. More than 60 women from approximately 13 nations are expected to compete in the first events in Central Europe, among them three-time FIS Continental Cup winner Annette Sagen from Norway and many newcomers.
    With a view to the first-ever women’s FIS World Championships in ski jumping in Liberec in 2009, the national ski associations, especially in Europe, have been able to register a significant increase in the number of female ski jumpers. Tommi Nikunen, Finnish national coach, said, “We have noticed a general increase in the number of active ski jumpers recently. Although we do not yet have much experience, the inclusion of female jumpers seems to be helping our sport, in terms of numbers but also as a general boost of new energy.”

— FIS/Sandra Spitz