Zografski wins in Courchevel
Jul 31, 2023·Ski Jumping
Bulgarian Vladimir Zografski won the FIS Grand Prix in Courchevel (FRA) on Sunday. Zografski prevailed ahead of Switzerland's Gregor Deschwanden and Austria's Marco Woergoetter. It was the first ever victory for Zografski in the World Cup or Grand Prix and also the first victory for the nation of Bulgaria in ski jumping.
The organizers in Courchevel did not have to search long for the Bulgarian national anthem for Zografski's victory. Although the 30-year-old's best result so far in 137 World Cup starts had been 6th place, Zografski had already finished second in Saturday's Grand Prix in Courchevel, thus proving his great shape form. So the victory of the 2011 Junior World Champion was no longer a real surprise, even if it was a historic win.
"It's really an amazing start to the season. I didn't expect this. The European Games didn't go the way we wanted. Then we made some changes and showed we were on the right track. What an incredible weekend!
We changed a lot of things about my jumps. We actually changed the technique of my jumps completely, and I think it suits me well now.I'm stronger on normal hills, but we hardly have competitions on normal hills, so we changed the technique. I'm adapting and learning, which is nice. We have set pretty high goals for ourselves. I think we can reach them, so we continue to pursue our goals. I just hope that I stay safe and without injuries" Zografski explained after his success,And the victory of the Bulgarian was absolutely deserved. After Zografski had been beaten on Saturday by 8 points by Gregor Deschwanden from Switzerland, Zografski secured himself a huge lead of 16.3 points over Deschwanden on Sunday.
Fourth place went to the strong but ultimately hapless German Philipp Raimund. The jewel in the German team had fallen in the first round on Saturday and was still complaining of pain on Sunday. Nevertheless, second place after the first run and fourth place in the final standings, a strong performance by Raimund. Raimund's teammates Pius Paschke, Constantin Schmid and Luca Roth (6th,7th and 9th) were also convincing. Ren Nikaido took 5th place as the best Japanese, Alex Insam (ITA) was pleased with a good 10th place.
In the Grand Prix overall ranking Zografski and Deschwanden, who had won on Saturday, are now leading together with 180 points each, third is Marco Woergoetter with 120 points.
