Andreas Wellinger wins the qualification

Great start for the Ski Jumping World Cup weekend in Willingen (GER). To the joy of the 10 000 spectators, Andreas Wellinger took the win in the qualification on the perfectly prepared Muehlenkopf-hill with his jump of 141.5 m (135.9 points). The 21-year-old of the ski club in Ruhpolding, came in ahead of Peter Prevc (133.3 points) and Cene Prevc (129.1 points).

The many fans saw a qualification on a high level in which Wellinger, as the last jumper of the round, prevented the double victory of the Prevc brothers and won the prize money of € 2 000,-. With Jurij Tepes, another member of the Slovenian team finished fourth, right behind Peter and Cene Prevc. The fifth place went to Vincent Descombes Sevoie of France.

The team of Japan experienced mixed emotions today. First Junshiro Kobayashi fell, fortunately he didn't suffer any injuries. Then Taku Takeuchi was disqualified because his suit didn't meet the rules. At the end veteran Noriaki Kasai was the best of his team with a great jump of 136 m and so the qualification ended on a high note for the Japanese.

Once again Poland's Kamil Stoch was the best of the 10 already pre-qualified athletes. After his win in Zakopane last weekend, Stoch showed the by far longest jump of the qualification round with 145 m, despite starting from a lower gate. Maciej Kot (136 m), Domen Prevc (135 m) and Markus Eisenbichler (134.5 m) also had good jumps and will fight for the podium on Sunday.

The three pre-qualified Austrians, Manuel Fettner, Stefan Kraft and Michael Hayboeck, decided not to jump in the qualification.

The team competition in Willingen will start on Saturday at 4:05 pm CET, the individual competition follows on Sunday at 3:05 pm CET.