Halvor Egner Granerud took 11th place in Saturday’s World Championships in Planica. The Norwegian was frustrated not only with the result, but also with the course of the competition. In one of the interviews, he did not keep his nerves in check. “It was a parody,” he thundered.
Halvor Egner Granerud was one of the favorites to win the gold medal at the World Championships in Planica on the normal hill. The leader of the World Cup did a great job in Thursday’s trainings, and in the qualifications he took the 6th place. Only that in the competition he was completely disappointed and finally finished the struggle in a distant 11th place. The world champion, for the second time in a row, was Piotr Żyła. After the competition, the Norwegian did not bite his tongue and criticized e.g. jury.
Halvor Egner Granerud furious after the competition on the normal hill in Planica. “Parody”
In the first round Granerud jumped 96.5 m, which gave him 10th place. Despite the distant position, he still had a chance for a podium and even gold. He was only 4.7 points behind the leader, who was Stefan Kraft. And although in the second part of the competition the Norwegian jumped a meter further, it did not allow him to take a place even in the TOP 10.
After the competition, the Norwegian was frustrated. In an interview with “Verdens Gang”, he emphasized that in both attempts he had bad conditions and the wind prevented him from making good jumps. Moreover, in his opinion, the competition was very unfair. “I think there have been fairer competitions in the past,” Granerud said bluntly. A moment later his frustration reached its zenith and the jumper expressed an unequivocal opinion on the course of the competition. – It was a parody of a ski jumping competition. It’s a shame that this happened at the World Cup.
Changeable conditions did not prevent Piotr Żyle from winning gold. After the first round, the Pole was in distant 13th place, but in the second installment of the competition after a jump of 105 m, which is a new hill record, he took the lead, which he did not give up until the end. Thus, he defended the world champion title won two years ago in Oberstdorf. Silver and bronze were won by two Germans – Andreas Wellinger and Karl Geiger respectively.
In addition, Żyła broke several records. He was, among others the oldest world champion in history. Interestingly, he did it a second time. In 2021, he received this name from Anders Bardal. What’s more, Żyła became the second jumper in history to defend his title on a normal hill. His compatriot, Adam Małysz, was the first to do so.
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This is not the end of emotions at the World Championships in Planica. Both Granerud and other Poles will have the opportunity to win more medals. On Sunday, February 26, a mixed doubles competition on the normal hill is scheduled. On Friday, March 3, the men’s individual competition on the large hill will take place. A day later, the team competition will be held at the same facility.
