Norway tops men’s normal hill qualification

RESULTS

To no surprise, Norway topped the men’s individual normal hill qualification round.

Marius Lindvik took the top spot with a huge jump of 100.5m to earn 116.7 points and teammate Robert Johansson followed close behind with a jump distance of 103.0m and 116.6 points. While Johansson is currently ranked 12th in the World Cup standings, he is a contender to finish with a medal during the final competition.

Going into the men’s qualification round, Germany's Karl Geiger was the favorite to register a top finish. Finishing first in both the men’s large and normal hill at the Oberstdorf World Championships, Geiger is ranked first overall in the World Cup rankings for the 2021/2022 season. However, the superstar ski jumper finished in ninth place with 103.9 points. With tricky wind conditions on the course, athletes were tested on maintaining their technique, acceleration and distance off the take-off table.

The top 50 ski jumpers out of the starting 53 will advance to the 1st round of the men’s individual normal hill competition. United States ski jumpers filled out the bottom of the pack with Casey Larson pulling the most U.S. points with 69.8. Right behind Larson was Kevin Bickner with 61.8 points and Patrick Gasienica, making his Olympic debut, with 61.2.

All three men will make the 1st round of the men’s normal hill competition on Feb. 6 at 5:00 a.m.