Norwegian ski jumper Anders Bardal has been landing some spectacular jumps lately, but didn’t jump far enough to beat out World Cup competition at Holmenkollen on Sunday. Norwegian skier Martin Johnsrud Sundby also placed second in the men’s 50-kilometer race the day before, but could still claim a bigger personal victory.
Bardal ended up as the only Norwegian on the winners’ platform at Holmenkollen, placing second behind Severin Freund of Germany. Kamil Stoch of Poland finished third with lots of Polish ski jumping fans in the stands.
Norway’s jumpers were disappointed. “This is absolutely not good enough,” coach Alexander Stöckl told newspaper Aftenposten. “Last year we had six men on the podium, this year just one,” he added, referring to overall results of competition this season. “We need to sit ourselves down and really evaluate the season.”
Skier Sundby, meanwhile, wasn’t as disappointed with his second-place finish in the men’s tough 50-kilometer cross-country race on Saturday. He ended behind Daniel Richardsson of Sweden but ahead of arch-rival Aexander Legkov of Russia, and his result gave him enough points to claim the overall World Cup for the season.
Sundby thus joins an elite group of Norwegian skiers including Bjørn Dæhlie, Petter Northug, Vegard Ulvang and Thomas Alsgaard as the season wraps up next weekend. Only Northug is still skiing, but he dropped out of the competition at Holmenkollen over the weekend, pleading exhaustion.
newsinenglish.no staff
