Gold for Austria on HS100m Jump

LAHTI, Finland (Feb. 25, 2017) - Stefan Kraft of Austria took gold in the men’s HS100m ski jumping competition in dramatic fashion Saturday night in front of a packed house at Lahti Stadium to edge Germany’s Andreas Wellinger by a mere two points. Germany took silver and bronze.

It was a tough night for USA jumpers Kevin Bickner (Wauconda, IL) and Mike Glasder (Cary, IL) at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships who finished 47th and 49th. Bickner flew 83.5 meters on his first round jump, with Glasder going 82.0.

“It wasn’t my best effort,” said Bickner. “I’ve been consistently been jumping to 90 meters and that one was just 83. It’s kind of a bummer to not make a second jump.”

Glasder echoed the sentiments on his jump but is taking away a positive experience from World Championships. “It’s been a great experience here in Lahti - a lot longer than our normal World Cup week,” he said. “It’s a place with a lot of history and we like jumping here.”

On Sunday, Bickner and Glasder will join women’s jumpers Sarah Hendrickson (Park City, UT) and Nita Englund (Florence, WI) in the mixed gender team event. From there the men move onto the large hill in Lahti Stadium for next week’s HS134m competition.

Both Glasder and Bickner were looking forward to the mixed gender team event Sunday. “Getting the men and women into the same event is an interesting concept,” said Bickner. “I’m confident we can do pretty well in that event.”

RESULTS
Men’s HS100m Ski Jumping