WARSAW, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- Austria won the men's large hill team title at the FIS Ski Jumping World Cup in Zakopane, Poland on Saturday.
Team Austria demonstrated excellent quality from the very beginning. Jan Hoerl jumped 137 meters, and then his teammates also handled the pressure, with Maximilian Ortner leaping 136m, Stefan Kraft 130.5m, and Daniel Tschofenig 132m.
After the first round, Austria led the contest by nearly 20 points over second-placed Norway. Germany was in third position.
In the second round, Andreas Widholzl's team had no problem defending their leading position, and they secured a massive victory at the Wielka Krokiew hill with 1170.4 points.
"Of course we were the favorites, and we knew that, but you have to make your best jumps and stay focused. We did our job, and we can feel the pride," Kraft said after their triumph.
Slovenia moved from fourth into second with 1129.6 points after a stunning jump of 144 meters by Anze Lanisek. Norway's Johann Andre Forfang jumped 132.5 meters, earning his team bronze with 1122.9 points.
Germany finished fourth while hosts Poland came in fifth. "Even if you know what needs to be improved, it takes time. It's a process. I think there is some progress in our performances. I hope we prove it soon," said Poland's Dawid Kubacki.
The individual competition is scheduled for Sunday. ■
