Third victory for Nika Kriznar
Aug 05, 2023·Ski Jumping
Slovenia's Nika Kriznar won the first of two FIS Grand Prix in Szczyrk (POL). After her two victories at the Grand Prix opener in Courchevel (FRA), the Slovenian also prevailed in Poland. And once again, Sara Takahashi from Japan and Alexandria Loutitt from Canada were on the podium together with Kriznar.
The 23-year-old overall World Cup winner of the 2020/2021 season remains the benchmark for the summer of 2023. Kriznar also won the third competition of the summer in superior style on Saturday, collecting maximum points in both scoring runs to take a 15.1-point lead over second-placed Sara Takahashi.
"This competition today was perfect for me. I had a small mistake in the first jump but with this result it's okay. It is always wonderful to jump here in Poland, the fans are great and I hope we will have many more competitions here," said Kriznar, for whom the overall Grand Prix victory is already within reach after three competitions. Kriznar has already won the Grand Prix in 2019 and 2020.
The second Slovenian, Nika Prevc, came in fourth. The sister of the three ski jumping Prevc brothers is now a regular in the world's top 10.
Chinese Liu with top performance
The 27-year-old Chinese Qi Liu made the eyes of the Chinese team shine with a top performance. Rank 5 means the best career result for Liu, the first podium is more than ever a realistic goal for the team from China.
Liu had already competed in the World Cup in the winters of 2012/13 and 2013/14, where she had already achieved 7th place in Trondheim (NOR).
Liu then had to struggle with a knee injury and trained, but did not make it back to the national team until 2021 and is now back with a top performance.
Abigail Strate from Canada was convincing in 6th place ahead of three Japanese: Kurumi Ichinohe, Yuka Kobayashi and Haruka Iwasa together with Sara Takanashi ensured a strong team result for the Japanese.
300 points for Nika Kriznar
In the Grand Prix overall ranking Kriznar now leads with 300 of 300 possible points ahead of Sara Takanashi (240 points, 3 x place 2) and Alexandria Loutitt (180 points, 3 x place 3).
The next women's Grand Prix will take place on Sunday in Szczyrk, starting at 17:30.
