Profiling the Flying Ladies: File 1.3 (her story continues) Carina Vogt: The beginning of World Cup Career, podium, World Championships medal!

Greetings!

It's the third part of Carina Vogt's profile. We'll take a look at her World Cup career in seasons 2011/2012 and 2012/2013, and her debut in the World Championships. I wish you enjoyable reading!





2011/2012 Season:

Unlike in the previous season, Vogt competed during the summer season. On 13th of August, 2011, Vogt finished in 24th, and the next day she achieved her best result in the Summer Continental Cup, as she finished in 12th. Both of the competitions were held in Bischofsgruen, Germany. Three days later, on 18th of August, she participated in a FIS Cup race, in Poehla, Germany. In the results, Vogt was ranked in 11th. 19th and 20th of August, she spent jumping in Oberwiesenthal, Germany. In two Continental Cup competitions, she was 30th and 26th.
   Carina continued her season in winter, which she started on 9th of December, in Notodden Norway. In the first Continental Cup competition, she jumped only once, as she finished in 35th. The next day she was already 25th.
   Less than a month later, Vogt made her World Cup debut in Hinterzarten, Germany. She jumped with a number 3. She landed at 80.0 meters (wind compensation +1.1 points / gate compensation 0.0 p) and scored 79.1 points; 8.6 points separated her from her first World Cup points. Competition lasted only for a round, and it was surprisingly won by Swiss Sabrina Windmueller. Third Ladies' World Cup competition in history was also held in Hinterzarten. Carina jumped with number 2. She flew 90.5 meters (-2.9/0.0) and gathered 97.1 points, and she led the competition until jumper number 10. She waited, and in the results of the first round, Vogt was 26th. On the second round she didn't succeed in a similar way, as a jump of 84.0 meters (-5.5/0.0) dropped her from 26th to 30th, with a total score of 176.6 points, 1.7 points from 29th. On 8th of January, 2012, Carina Vogt achieved her first ever World Cup point.
   Her best result of the season in World Cup competition was achieved on 4th of February. She was preparing for her third World Cup race in Hinzenbach, Austria on HS94 hill. Vogt prepared for her jump: she got the signal, and accelerated to speed of 85.0 km/h (52.828 mph), launched herself into the air, and her skis touched the ground at 84.0 meters (-2.2/0.0) and she scored 108.3 points. She had number 13, and she took the current lead by 7.3 points. After 20, 30 and even 40 jumps, Vogt was still leading. Ulrike Graessler flew 88.5 meters (-4.9/0.0) and got 112.6 points, which meant that jumper 41 was able to beat Vogt, who dropped to current third after Anette Sagen's 88.5 meters (-9.7/0.0). Katja Pozun dropped Carina from podium positions, as Slovenian jumped 90.5 meters (-9.6/0.0). Daniela Iraschko got lucky with the conditions; Austrian flew 96.0 meters (-10.2/0.0) at 1.67 m/s wind from towards. It got Iraschko total score of 123.3 points. World Cup leader, Sarah Hendrickson, prepared as a number 48. Her coach decided to play it safe, and drop the gate from position 13 to 11. Hendrickson started her jump with +4.8 points, which meant that she had to jump around 94.0 meters in similar conditions as Iraschko. Hendrickson flew 91.5 meters (-9.7/+4.8), but her points in style made it tighter. Hendrickson took second place after the first round, only 0.7 points behind Iraschko. Apparently, wind got stronger, which made second round impossible, and the results of the first round became official. TOP10: 1. Iraschko AUT 123.3 points , 2. Hendrickson USA 122.6 p, 3. Pozun SLO 114.4 p, 4. Graessler GER 112.6, 5. Sagen NOR 110.8, 6. Vogt GER 108.3, 7. Van USA 106.1, 8. Rogelj SLO 105.8, 9.Wuerth GER 105.6, 10. Vtic SLO 104.2. Vogt must have been very happy with the results.
   The next day in Hinzenbach, she finished in 13th. Next two competitions were held a week later in Ljubno, Slovenia, where the German finished in 27th and 19th. Then she had a pause, to prepare for the FIS Junior Ski World Championships.
   On 23rd of February, 2012, in Erzurum, Turkey, ladies jumped for the medals. Wind and gate factors weren't used in the competition, even though the wind changed quite a bit: from 0.2 m/s from behind up to even 1.2 m/s towards on the first round. On the second round it altered between 0.5 m/s from behind to 1.8 m/s towards! Vogt probably didn't even worry about it much. With number 39, she gained the best speed of the round, 90.9 km/h (56.495 mph), launched herself into the air, and landed at 102.5 meters. With 131.0 points, Vogt took current 2nd, only one point behind Coline Mattel, who had jumped 103.0 meters with number 38. Hendrickson took the lead, as she flew 105.0 meters and got 137.0 points. Her result was equaled in points by Sara Takanashi, even though the Japanese jumper jumped 108.5 meters. After the first round, Vogt was 4th, only one point from medal and six points from the gold. On the second round, Italian Evelyn Insam flew 101.0 meters, and set pressure for the remaining for jumpers. Vogt was the first jumper giving her answer. Once again top speed, 90.2 km/s (56.060 mph), good height, and her flight ended at 100.0 meters. She had 6.0 points gap over Insam, and 100.0 meters was enough. Vogt scored 255.5 points in total. Mattel had jump 100.0 meters to beat the German, but French jumper failed by jumping 93.0 meters, and gathering 241.0 points. Carina Vogt was a medalist, but the leaders decided the color. Hendrickson did a good jump. She took the lead, but 100.5 meters seemed a bit too short for the gold. Takanashi proved that, as Japanese jumper landed at 107.5 meters, and took the Junior World Championship. TOP6: 1. Sara Takanashi JPN 276.5 points, 2. Sarah Hendrickson USA 265.0, 3. Carina Vogt GER 255.5 p, 4. Evelyn Insam ITA 251.5 p, 5. Spela Rogelj SLO 250.0 p, 6. Coline Mattel FRA 241.0 p. Carina Vogt took her first ever Junior World Championships medal in her fourth and final attempt. It must have been a nice and relieving medal. It wasn't over yet, as two days later, Carina Vogt got silver Ramona Straub, Svenja Wuerth and Katharina Althaus, in ladies' team event. Gold went to Japan by 119.5 points! Germans finished 25.0 points ahead of Slovenians, who took bronze medals. Two medals in her final Junior World Championships; great job, Carina!

Individual podium from the left: Carina Vogt, Sara Takanashi and Sarah Hendrickson. Erzurum, Turkey, 23rd of February, 2012.

Podium from team event, from the left: Slovenia, Japan and Germany. Erzurum, Turkey, 25th of February, 2012.

     Ladies' World Cup season's final three competitions for Vogt, were held in Zao, Japan. She finished in 25th, 23rd and 26th. Due to those finishing positions, she wasn't chosen for the World Cup finale in Oslo. In the first ever edition of Ladies' World Cup, Carina Vogt was 27th in the overall cup with 96 points, after participating in 9 of 13 competitions. World Cup was won by Sarah Hendrickson, who gathered 1169 points. 2nd place for Iraschko with 779 points, and 3rd for Takanashi with 639 points. In Continental Cup, Vogt was ranked 66th with 6 points, by jumping in 2 of 7 competitions.
  For the first time in her career, Carina succeeded better in FIS Junior Ski World Championships than in the overall cups. It came across as she got the highest peak of the shape at the most important moment. That feature would be very crucial for the future. She could look forward with optimism.

2012/2013 Season:

Vogt had a very nice summer season. For the first time arranged summer Grand Prix, she concluded in 4th with 154 points! She started competitions with 6th place in Courchevel, France. Two days later, on 17th of August, 2012, Vogt took her first ever podium in Grand Prix competition. On the first round she flew on Hinterzarten's HS108 hill 97.5 meters (+0.7/0.0), and she was 2nd with 119.2 points. On the second round Takanashi succeeded by jumping 99.5 meters (+1.9/0.0), which helped her to overtake Jacqueline Seifriedsberger. TOP2 were remaining; Vogt flew 96.5 meters (+2.2/0.0), and got 237.9 points in total, which gave her current 2nd. Daniela Iraschko was in her own class, as Austrian flew 99.0 meters (+2.5/0.0), and on the second round 103.0 meters (+0.9/0.0). TOP6: 1. Iraschko AUT 259.4 points, 2. Takanashi JPN 239.9 p, 3. Vogt GER 237.9 p, 4. Seifriedsberger AUT 235.0 p, 5. Iwabuchi JPN 230.2 p, 6. Pozun SLO 230.0 p. The next day, Germany finished in third in mixed team event. Their squad was Graessler, Vogt, Richard Freitag and Andreas Wank. Germans scored 967.2 points. Austrians won with 1026.9 points, followed by Japan, 1000.8 points. In two competitions in Almaty, Vogt was 7th and 14th. In the overall standings, she lost podium by 26 points. She seemed to be well prepared for the winter.

Podium in Hinterzarten, Germany, Grand Prix competition, from the left: Takanashi, Iraschko, Vogt. 17th of August, 2012.

Vogt began winter season with a mixed team event, which wasn't Vogt's best competition, as she jumped 68.0 meters (+4.9/0.0) and 82.0 meters (+1.3/0.0) from Lillerhammer's HS100 hill. Despite her difficult jumps, Germany finished in 4th, 24.3 points from podium. The next, she was like a whole different jumper: on the first round, Vogt flew 100.0 meters (-1.7/0.0), but even though the second longest jump of the round, she was 8th after the first round due to her worse points from style. In comparison, Insam jumped 103.0 meters (-4.6/0.0), and was fourth after the first round. Sarah Hendrickson was leading with a jump of 98.5 meters (-3.5/+4.8), 6.0 points ahead of Vogt. On the second round, Carina Vogt landed at 99.5 meters (0.0/-4.8), longest jump of the round, and gathered 256.0 points. 7th, 6th, 5th and 4th jumpers after the first round couldn't beat her. Takanashi flew 98.0 meters (+1.3/0.0), and took the lead by 9.2 points. Anette Sagen jumped 97.0 meters (+0.8/-4.8) and Norwegian took current 2nd. Hendrickson's coach decided to drop the starting gate for the jumper from the United States. Gamble didn't work out perfectly, as Hendrickson landed at 95.0 meters (+1.1/0.0), and got 261.4 points in total. TOP6: 1. Takanashi JPN 265.2 points, 2. Hendrickson USA 261.4 p, 3. Sagen NOR 258.9 p, 4. Vogt GER 256.0 p, 5. Insam ITA 255.3 p, 6. Iraschko AUT 250.8 p. Great competition for Carina after the mixed team event.
   The next two competitions were held in Sochi, Russia.So called pre-Olympic competitions went quite well from Vogt, who was 8th and 5th. A week later, in Ramsau, Austria, she took 10th place.  Less than a month later, in Schonach, she took positions 8 and 12. Vogt concluded German 'tournee' with two 9th places in Hinterzarten. Two of four Japanese World Cup competitions were held in Sapporo. In the first one she was 20th, but in the second one back in TOP10, finishing in 9th.
   The first competition in Zao, turned out to be a happy one for Carina Vogt. On the first round, current TOP4 jumpers were in their own league. Vogt began the group by landing at 89.0 meters (-2.9/0.0) and scoring 107.6 points. Seifriedsberger flew 88.0 meters (-2.0/0.0), and took current 2nd with 105.0 points. Hendrickson didn't beat Vogt either. Hendrickson jumped 88.0 meters (-1.3/0.0), but was only 0.4 points behind the German. Takanashi took the things to her own level with a bit of luck; 95.5 meters (-8.8/0.0), and total score 114.2 points gave her 6.6 points' lead. On the second round, Seifriedsberger had luck with winds, as she flew 92.5 meters (-8,5/0.0). Wind got lighter for Hendrickson, who landed at 85.0 meters (-3.3/0.0). Wind almost stopped for Vogt, who jumped 85.0 meters (-1.5/0.0) as well. She took current 2nd. Like magic, wind got stronger for Takanashi, who flew 93.5 meters (-6.2/0.0) and took the win. The most important fact was that Carina Vogt took her first ever World Cup podium, excellent job from her! TOP5: 1. Takanashi JPN 228.0 p, 2. Seifriedsberger AUT 212.0 p, 3. Vogt GER 207.1 p, 4. Hendrickson USA 205.4 p, 5. Jerome USA 197.5 p. On the second day, Vogt finished in fourth on her 21st birthday. Two solid jumps of 92.0 meters (-8.4/0.0) and 91.0 meters (-10.9/0.0) brought her 212.2 points in total, 10.4 points from podium.




























Podium of the first World Cup competition in Zao, Japan, from the left: Seifriedsberger, Takanashi, Vogt. 9th of February, 2013.

Next time Vogt competed for the first time in her career in the World Championships, which were held in Val di Fiemme. On 22nd of February, 2013, gaining good speed was problematic, which forced the jury to raise the starting position from 21 to 23 after 28 jumpers. Carina Vogt flew 99.5 meters (-2.2/-6.2) on the first round, and took the current lead with 115.6 points. She was overtaken by Seifriedsberger, who jumped 104.0 meters (-3.6/-6.2). Mattel landed between them with a jump of 102.0 meters (-5.1/-6.2). Hendrickson flew on the HS line; 106.0 meters (-5.4/-6.2), got 127.4 points and took the lead from Seifriedsberger by 8.7 points. Takanashi couldn't take the lead, as she jumped 104.5 meters (-1.7/-6.2) and achieved 124.1 points. On the second round, Jessica Jerome threw a slight challenge by flying 98.0 meters (-4.9/0.0). Vogt topped the speed rankings with 88.7 km/h (55.127 mph), launched herself into the air, and landed at 96.0 meters (-5.7/0.0). The points from style were very important, and 1.5 points more from style helped Vogt to steal the lead by 0.5 points! Mattel jumped 95.5 meters (-5.2/0.0), but her advantage after the first round was enough to take current 1st. Seifriedsberger was the first jumper to secure her medal: 98.5 meters (-1.5/0.0) and total score of 237,2 points gave her the lead. TOP2 was yet to jump. Takanashi flew 103.0 meters (-3.1/0.0) and gathered 251.0 points. Hendrickson couldn't jump much less. Her skis touched the ground at 103.0 meters (-6.7/0.0). Jumper from the United States of America got 253.7 points, and won the World Championship. TOP6: 1. Sarah Hendrickson USA 253.7 p, 2. Sara Takanashi JPN 251.0 p, 3. Jacqueline Seifriedsberger AUT 237.2 p, 4. Coline Mattel FRA 229.5 p, 5. Carina Vogt GER 225.4 p, 6. Jessica Jerome USA 224.9 p.
   Solid 5th place was a good debut for Carina Vogt, but she didn't have to leave the Championships empty handed. February 24th, 2013, first ever mixed team event at World Championships was organized. Vogt was in the team, and she thanked for that by jumping 95.5 meters (+6.2/0.0) and 98.0 meters (+2.1/0.0) and gathering 239.8 points in total. Japan won the competition with 1011.0 points, Austria was 2nd with 986.7 points, followed by Germany (Graessler, Freitag, Vogt, Freund), who got 984.9 points. 5th and bronze: great World Championships debut for Vogt!


























Bronze team from the left: Freund, Graessler, Vogt, Freitag.

Two World Cup competitions were waiting for female jumpers after the World Championships. Both of them were held in Norway. The first one in Trondheim, Vogt finished in 10th. The last competition was the first one for ladies, which was organized on a large hill. It took place in Oslo at HS134 Holmenkollbakken. On the first round, Vogt flew 124.0 meters (-12.5/0.0), and was 7th with 108.2 points. On the second round, Mattel went from 8th to 4th with a flight of 124.0 meters (-6.0/0.0). Vogt concluded her World Cup season by jumping 122.5 meters (-4.6/0.0) and her total score of 216.1 was enough for current 2nd. Seifriedsberger took the lead from French jumper, as Austrian flew 125.5 meters (+0.4/0.0) and scored 233.9 points. Katja Pozun and Lindsey Van couldn't cross the K-points' 120.0 meters' line, and they didn't beat competition's current TOP3. Runggaldier dropped Vogt from podium, because Italian jumped 116.5 meters (-2.6/0.0), and acheived 217.4 points in total. Takanashi destroyed Seifriedsberger from the lead, as she landed at 133.5 meters (-3.9/0.0) and beat Austrian by 26.9 points! Hendrickson remained unbeatable, as she won the World Championships, competition in Trondheim and also the finale. Hendrickson's skis touched the ground at 129.0 meters (-1.2/0.0) and brought her 130.5 points, which meant 262.8 points in total. TOP6: 1. Hendrickson USA 262.8 p, 2. Takanashi JPN 260.8 p, 3. Seifriedsberger AUT 233.9 p, 4. Mattel FRA 221.5 p, 5. Runggaldier ITA 217.4 p, 6. Vogt GER 216.1 p.
   Very nice final competition. In the overall standings, Vogt was 7th with 481 points, 18 points from 6th.World Cup belonged to Takanashi, who collected 1297 points, followed by Hendrickson with 1047. Third place for Mattel, who got 823 points. Vogt participated 12 of 14 competitions. Her season was great: first World Cup podium, first World Championships medal, and TOP10 finish in overall World Cup. She was looking forward to the future seasons.

This has been the third part. Due to very action-packed 2013/2014 and 2014/2015 seasons', I have to make one more part that it wouldn't make too much reading for one post. Hopefully you enjoyed it, and remain patient. Enjoy your day, remember to follow to see the fourth part, where we'll also take a look at the future!

Links (sources and social media):

Carina Vogt, basic information
The previous part of Carina Vogt's story
Picture of Carina Vogt used in the beginning
Wikipedia article about Carina Vogt (German)
Individual podium from FIS Junior World Championships 2012, Erzurum, Turkey
Team podium from FIS Junior World Championships, 2012, Erzurum, Turkey
Podium from summer Grand Prix, 2012, Hinterzarten, Germany
Podium from World Cup, 2013, Zao, Japan
Bronze team from mixed team event World Championships, 2013, Val die Fiemme, Italy
Carina Vogt's fan page on Facebook
Carina Vogt's profile on fis-ski.com

Profiling the Flying Ladies: File 1.2 (her story, part 1): Carina Vogt - The beginning of the story - First FIS Continental Cup points, podium, victory

Greetings!

This is the second part of Carina Vogt's profile, which will take a closer look for Carina's Continental Cup years in ski jumping, season by season. Let's go straight into the story.





Carina Vogt's story (season by season):

2004/2005 Season:

The only available information from 2004/2005 season, is that 12-year-old Vogt participated in one FIS Race. It took place in Meinerzhagen in Germany. On 15th of August, 2005, Vogt was ranked 45th in her FIS debut. Competition was won by Slovenian Monika Pogladic, ahead of Lindsey Van from the United States of America and Austrian Daniela Iraschko (currently Iraschko-Stolz). All the 53 jumpers were allowed to jump twice. The youngest competitor was 7-year-old Vera Bagdaschwilli! During that time, FIS Cup was the second highest ranked Cup at the time, right behind Continental Cup.

2005/2006 Season:

There is no available information about Carina Vogt from this particular season. The reason isn't available from my sources.

2006/2007 Season:

Vogt made her Continental Cup debut in Klingenthal, Germany, August 6th, 2006. She finished in 31st, only one separated her from qualifying for the second round.
   In winter season, Vogt participated in eight Continental Cup competition, scoring points in all the competitions. She began by finishing in very high 7th, on 14th of January, 2007, in Villach Austria. Competition was won by another German, Ulrike Graessler, who was followed by Austrians Jacqueline Seifriedsberger and Daniela Iraschko. The next day, January 15th, in Italian Dobbiaco, Vogt finished in her highest position of the season, which was 6th place, Norwegian Anette Sagen took 1st. Vogt's lowest position was 26th in Baiersbronn, Germany, 14th of February, 2007. Three days later, she concluded her Continental Cup season with 12th place in Schonach, Germany. In overall standings, Vogt was 26th with 169 points, but there were 20 competitions during the season, which is a good result, as she didn't participate even in a half of the season! Sagen won with 1340 points, 2nd was Graessler with 1252 points, and Van finished in 3rd with 1045 points.
   One month after the competition in Schonach, FIS Ski Junior World Championships' medals were given in Tarvisio, Italy. On the first round, Vogt jumped 91.5 meters, and she took current 2nd with 115.5 points, one point behind leading Italian Lisa Demetz. In the first round's results, TOP2 kept their positions, and they were followed by Slovenian Maja Vtic, and Canadians Nata de Leeuw and Katie Willis. On the second round, Willis set pressure by flying 92.5 meters with great style. As Nata de Leeuw was disqualified on the second round, TOP3 jumpers were the only obstacle for Willis' gold. Vtic jumped 90.0 meters, and she lost by one point. Carina Vogt prepared for her jump: 90.0 meters with good style would be enough for the medal. Vogt launched herself into the air, but she landed at 88.5 meters, which was gave her current 3rd. Demetz kept her nerves, and took the gold medal a jump of 90.0 meters. TOP5: 1. Lisa Demetz ITA 229.5 points, 2. Katie Willis CAN 228.0 p, 3. Maja Vtic SLO 227.0 p, 4. Carina Vogt GER 223.5 p, 5. Juliane Seyfarth GER 208.5 p. It must have been a slight disappointment for Carina, but I'm sure that she knew that there were going to be lots of good results in this sort of events.

2007/2008 Season:

During summer part of the season, Vogt participated in four competitions. In Bischofsgruen, Germany, she was 10th. Three days later, August 15th, she landed on 11th place. Vogt achieved her best finishing position Bischofshofen, as she was 6th. She didn't qualify in her last summer season competition for the second round, because she finished in 45th. Those four competitions were in the Ladies Summer 4 Hill tournament, which Vogt concluded in 16th with 748.0 points. The tournament was won by Iraschko with 957.4 points.
   Vogt jumped in six competitions during winter in Continental Cup. In Notodden, Norway, she was 8th and 10th. Over a month later, 23rd of January, 2008, she finished in 27th in Dobbiaco, Italy. Vogt's last three competitions were in Germany. In the first competition in Breitenberg, she took positions 17 and 20.
   Vogt's final competition of the season began in a good way, as she flew 85.5 meters on Baierbronn's HS90 hill, which gave her 113.5 points, and 7th place after the first round. The first place was shared by Canadian Atsuko Tanaka and Austrian Jacqueline Seifriedsberger with 120.0 points. Sagen was 3rd, only one point behind the leaders. On the second round, Vogt sat on the starting bench, pushed herself, she gained speed of 85.7 km/h (53.263 mph), launched herself into the air, and she landed at 89.5 meters with great style. She took the lead with 236.0 points, and they were enough to keep her in the lead until the TOP3 of the first round. Continental Cup leader, Anette Sagen 89.0 meters, and despite Norwegian's worse points from style, Vogt had to give up the first position. Atsuko Tanaka flew over the HS line, 91.0 meters, and she took the lead from Sagen. Seifriedsberger couldn't keep the lead, as Austrian jumped 84.0 meters and her total score of 231.0 gave her 4th place in the overall results. Tanaka won, Sagen was 2nd and Vogt took her first ever podium in ladies' Continental Cup thanks to the best score of the second round, 122.5 points.
   In the Continental Cup, Vogt was 18th with 237 points. The overall standings were topped once again by Sagen with 1400 points. Iraschko was 2nd with 928 points, and Seifriedsberger came in 3rd with 801 points. There were 16 competitions during the season, which also showed Vogt's strong form. With a very positive podium, Vogt could look forward to the next season with a nice smile on her face.

2008/2009 Season:

Unfortunately, ski jumpers seem to have syndrome: after a good season, comes a more difficult one; Vogt didn't avoid the syndrome. In summer, she participated in eight Continental Cup competitions. Vogt's finishing positions were: 16th, 24th, 23rd, 11th, 23rd, 21st 24th and 40th. Her best competition was in Bischofshofen, Austria, on 17th of August, and the worst one was on 27th of September in Oberstdorf, Germany.
   Winter season went a bit better, but she finished only once in TOP10 during her six starts. On 10th of January, 2009, Vogt was 23rd, and the next day 30th in Schonach. One week later, she couldn't her podium from the previous season in Baiersbronn, as she finished in 24th and 18th. She participated in two competitions on HS100 hill in Notodden, Norway. First of the competitions, was her best one in the season, judging by the finishing position. After the first round, Vogt was 9th with a jump of 84.5 meters. On the second round, she landed at 84.0 meters, and she finished in equal 10th with Jessica Jerome. The next day, February 14th, 2009, Vogt took 12th place. It must be noted, that there were only 25 competiors in Notodden, whereas Baiersbronn had 39.
   With 77 points, Carina Vogt was 37th in Continental Cup's overall standings. Anette Sagen was the best with 1091 points, Daniela Iraschko 2nd with 932, and with 927 points, 3rd place was taken by Ulrike Graessler. Vogt had a tough season behind herself, and it was time to climb closer to the top.

2009/2010 Season:

Summer season in Continental Cup was quite similar compared to the previous one. Vogt had the best competition on 8th of August, as she finished in 14th in Bischofsgruen, Germany. In Oberwiesenthal, on 14th of Augutst, she finished in 37th. In the other competitions, Vogt was ranked 26th, 21st and 20th. All of the competitions were held between 8th and 15th of August, 2009.
   Vogt joined winter's Continental Cup in Baiersbronn Germany. As she hadn't competed in nearly five months, her shape was unknown. With number 20, Vogt flew incredibly 94.0 meters, 4 meters over the Hill Size line! She got from style points between 15.0 and 16.0. Her score was 125.0, and she took the lead. She kept the lead, until Anette Sagen's jump. Norwegian flew 93.5 meters, but her points on style were between 16.0 and 17.0 points. Sagen was leading after the first round with 131.0 points, followed by Vogt and another Norwegian, Line Jahr, who also got 125.0 points. Current Continental Cup leader Daniela Iraschko flew 91.0 meters on the second round, and she started her climb from 6th place. Jacqueline Seifriedsberger and Jessica Jerome couldn't beat Iraschko. Vogt sat on the starting bench. She pushed herself, gained the highest speed of the round, 84.8 km/h (52,704 mph). Vogt launched herself into the air, and her skis touched the ground at 88.5 meters. Computers calculated for a while, and total score of 245.0 appeared on the screen, which meant that Vogt got the lead by 0.5 points! Vogt's first victory was in hands of two Norwegians. Jahr didn't even cross the K-point, as she landed at 84.0 meters. Sagen fought for meters, but 85.5 meters didn't seem to be enough. As Norwegian got worse points from style, it was for sure! Carina Vogt won her first ever Continental Cup competition in Baiersbronn, on 2nd of February, 2010!!! German was extremely happy and celebrating! TOP6: 1. Vogt GER 245.0 points, 2. Iraschko AUT 244.5 p, 3. Sagen NOR 242.5 p, 4. Jahr NOR 235.5 p, 5. Runggaldier ITA 226.5 p, 6. Johnson USA 225.5 p.

Happy podium from the left: Daniela Iraschko, Carina Vogt, Anette Sagen. baiersbronn, Germany. 2nd of February, 2012.

   The next day Vogt finished in 8th, as Iraschko took the win. Three days later, ladies had arrived in Schonach, another German skiing center. In the first competition, Vogt was equal third with Sagen after the first round with 109.5 points, 16.5 points behind leading Iraschko, Ulrike Graessler was 2nd. On the second round, Vogt landed at 94.0 meters, only two meters before the Hill Size line. Sagen flew 92.0 meters, which wasn't enough to beat the German. Graessler tried to challenge her team mate, but 89.0 meters wasn't enough to keep her even in TOP4. Iraschko jumped 90.0 meters, but it was enough for the win, even though Vogt scored the biggest amount of points on the second round. These results ment the second podium in four days, and Carina's third one in Continental Cup! TOP5: 1. Iraschko AUT 241.0, 2. Vogt GER 229.0, 3. Sagen NOR 226.0, 4. Seyfarth GER 221.0, 5. Graessler GER 220.5. The next competition was in Schonach, but it was held 17 days later than the previous one, because two competitions in Braunlage were cancelled. Vogt did good job, by jumping two solid jumps and finishing in 6th.
   The next event for Vogt was FIS Ski Junior World Championships in Hinterzarten, Germany. Despite her great position in overall Continental Cup at the moment, she was given starting number 9 among 41 athletes. Obviously, it didn't do good for Vogt, as she jumped 95.0 meters and her score of 111.0 points was enough only for 10th place after the first round. TOP5 jumpers on the results had numbers 21, 33, 37, 32 and 26. It's a sign of better conditions, but there is a possibility that Vogt didn't pull of a perfect jump. On the second round, Carina topped the speed rankings with 91.9 km/h (57,116 mph), and she landed at 103.0 meters. Swiss Bigna Windmueller succeeded better with her landing, as she flew 100.5 meters and overtook Vogt by 1.5 points. Sara Takanashi, Anna Ruprecht, Melanie Faisst and Juliane Seyfarth failed one after another to beat the TOP2. Sarah Hendrickson kept her nerves, and took the lead from Swiss jumper by 8.0 points by jumping 97.5 meters. When Coline Mattel flew 101.0 meters, Vogt's medal chances were gone. Italian Elena Runggaldier took the gold: Italian jumped 106.5 and 102.0 meters, and collected 267.5 points, 9.5 more than Mattel. TOP6: 1. Elena Runggaldier ITA 267.5, 2. Coline Mattel FRA 258.0, 3. Sarah Hendrickson USA 249.5, 4. Bigna Windmueller SUI 241.5, 5. Carina Vogt GER 240.0, 6. Jacqueline Seifriedsberger AUT 239.5. Vogt was probably disappointed, but she still had right to participate in two more FIS Ski Junior World Championships.
   A week after the Junior World Championships, Vogt returned to the Continental Cup. She finished 9th and 21 st in Ljubno. A week after that she was 14th in the first competition in Villach, but the second one lasted only one round for her, as she jumped on HS98 hill 60.5 meters, which brought her 47th position in the race. Last four competitions were held at the beginning of March. On 1st and 2nd of March, Vogt finished in 5th in Zao, Japan. On 6th and 7th of March, the final competitions were held in Zakopane. In the first one, Vogt was 15th, and she concluded her season with a 10th place in the competition.
   Generally speaking, the season was a success: two podiums, first Continental Cup win, and 8th place in the overall standings with 441 points (11 starts of 18 possible!). The only minor minus were the FIS Ski Junior World Championships, but she still had time. Vogt had a great season behind herself.

2010/2011 Season:

For some unkown reason, Vogt couldn't participate during the summer. From this particular season, she has only ten results. All of them are from the winter season, which was also the first season, where wind and gate compensation were included to the rules.
   Her first competition was the best one in Continental Cup, considering the finishing position. After the first round, Vogt was 15th with a jump of 84.5 meters (+6.0/0.0) and 94.5 points. On the second round she improved by flying 89,5 meters (+4.3/0.0) and gathering 199.3 points in total, which gave her 11th place in the official results. In two competitions in Hinterzarten, Vogt was 15th and 17th. In Braunlage, eight days after the competition in Schonach, she equaled her season's best. The next day she was 13th.
   Carina took a pause from Continental Cup, as she was chosen to represent Germany in Junior World Championships. She was still fighting for her first medal ever. Vogt had the last number, 51. She topped the speed rankings with 88.4 km/h (54.941 mph), but something didn't go right: 92.5 meters with a bad landing gave her again 10th position after the first round, and she was 11.5 points from the medal. On the second round she was the fastest, 87.8 km/h (54.568 mph), but she didn't fly more than 92.5 meters. 227.0 points in total brought her 8th place, which probably wasn't 18-year-old jumper's goal. Coline Mattel took the gold with 257.5 points, Slovenian Spela Rogelj was 2nd with 254.0 points, and bronze went to Japan with Yuki Ito and 252.0 points.
   One and a half week later, Vogt was back in the Continental Cup, and took 15th and 20th in Brotterode, Germany. She concluded her season in Ramsau, finishing 16th and 17th. In the overall Continental Cup standings, Vogt collected 154 points in 9 of 22 competitions. Not bad. This season was another tough one, but new chances would be given, as for the next season FIS decided to organize first ever Ladies World Cup season!

In the last part, we will catch up with Carina Vogt's World Cup history so far, and her greatest achievements. Don't forget to check it out, as it will be released during tomorrow, 20th of March, 2015. Enjoy your day, and thank you for reading! :)

Links (sources and social media):
Previous part of Vogt's profile (basic information)
Next part of Vogt's profile (beginning of the World Cup career)
Picture used in the beginning
Carina Vogt's biography on fis-ski.com
Wikipedia article about Carina Vogt (German)
Carina Vogt's best Continental Cup season, 2009/2010, (PDF-file), fis-ski.com
Carina Vogt's fanpage on Facebook

Profiling the Flying Ladies: File 1.1 (statistics and facts): Carina Vogt - Olympic Champion, World Champion - That's not all yet!!!

Greetings!

This is the first post in this series. It will be dedicated to Carina Vogt - thanks to her impressive results, this blog was started, and got me keen into the sport. Vogt has done a lot for the sport, first let's take a look at her basic profile.

    Carina Vogt for FIS.


Basic information:

Name: Carina Vogt
Date of birth: 5th of February, 1992 (05.02.1992)
Place of birth: Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany
Residence: Oberstdorf, Germany
Occupation: Police officer
Relationship status: Information not available


Sports career:

Ski Club (City, Country): Ski-Club Degenfeld (Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany)
Skis: Fischer
First FIS start (competition, position, date, location): FIS Race, 45th, 15th of August, 2005, Meinerzhagen, Germany

FIS Continental Cup:

FIS Continental Cup Debut (position, date, location): 31st, 6th of August, 2006, Kligenthal, Germany
First FIS Continental Cup points (position, date, location): 7th, 14th of January, 2007, Villach, Austria
First FIS Continental Cup podium (position, date, location): 3rd, 20th of February, 2008, Baiersbronn, Germany
First FIS Continental Cup victory (date, location): 2nd of January, 2010, Baiersbronn, Germany
Best FIS Continental Cup overall standings position (position, points, season): 8th, 441 points, 2009/2010

FIS World Cup:

FIS World Cup debut (position, date, location): 35th, 7th of January, 2012, Hinterzarten, Germany
First FIS World Cup points (position, date, location): 30th, 8th of January, 2012, Hinterzarten, Germany
First FIS World Cup podium (position, date, location): 3rd, 9th of February, 2013, Zao, Japan
First FIS World Cup victory (date, location): 18th of January, 2015, Zao, Japan
Best FIS World Cup overall standings position (position, points, season): 2nd, 806 points, 2013/2014

Junior World Championships, World Championships, Olympic Games:

FIS Ski Junior World Championships debut (position, date, location): 4th, 17th of March, 2007, Tarvisio, Italy
FIS Ski Junior World Championships medals: Bronze, individual event, 23rd of February, 2012. Erzurum, Turkey. Silver, team event, 25th of February, 2012, Erzurum, Turkey.
FIS Ski World Championships debut (position, date, location): 5th, 22nd of February, 2013, Val di Fiemme, Italy
FIS Ski World Championships medals: Gold, indiviual event, 20th of February, 2015, Falun, Sweden. Gold, mixed team event, 22nd of February, 2015, Falun, Sweden. Bronze, mixed team event, 24th of February, 2013
Olympic Games debut (position, date, location): 1st, 11th of February, 2014, Sochi, Russia
Olympic Games medals: Gold, individual event, 11th of February, 2014, Sochi, Russia

Interesting facts:

- 1st ever female Olympic Champion in Ski Jumping (2014, Sochi, Russia)
- 1st ever double female World Champion in Ski Jumping in single edition of FIS World Ski Championships (2015, Falun, Sweden)
- Has never won gold medal in German Championships, her medals in GC; Indiviual: Silver, 2009, Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Bronze, 3rd of October, 2014, Hinterzarten. Team: Silver, 3rd of August, 2008, Oberhof.
- Vogt's strength is speed just before the launch: her speed before the launch has been measured as the fastest nearly on every round. This phenomenon was already seen in 2006/2007 season, when Carina was only 14-year-old lady.
- Vogt's height is 171 centimeters (5 feet 7 inches).
- There is no available data from 2005/2006 season.
- One of the streets in Degenfeld, near the ski jump, has been named Carina-Vogt-Weg.

Tomorrow, 20th of March, 2015, I will release the third part the of file, as Carina Vogt's story will be updated, second part is published, click this to read!. Remember to check them out! Thanks for reading, and enjoy your day! :)

Links (sources and social media):
Carina Vogt's profile on fis-ski.com
Wikipedia Article about Carina Vogt (German)
Carina Vogt on Facebook
Picture of Carina Vogt

Weekend Analyses of Ladies' Ski Jumping, Championship Edition: Mixed Team Event - Second time, new winner - new analysis!!!

Greetings!

Unfortunately I didn't have much time to do this during the World Championships, so I decided to postpone this one to the time when the 2014/2015 season will be over. This also a good chance to see, how the new FLENAA-team analyses system works.

Perhaps the biggest item of news was announced even before the competition started. German' coaches, Werner Schuster and Andi Bauer decided that Carina Vogt, Richard Freitag and Severin Freund will be joined by Katharina Althaus. Juliane Seyfarth didn't agree with the choice, and 25-year-old German was frustrated. Seyfarth finished in the individual event 14th, whereas Althaus was ranked 17th. On the other hand, Althaus did impressive work on the training rounds before ladies' individual event, which was one of the factors for the outcome. Other surprise was announced by Czech Republic, as Roman Koudelka wasn't in the team's squad, probably focusing already for the large hill event.

The squads in the numeral order:

1   Italy:   Elena Runggaldier, Sebastian Colloredo, Evelyn Insam, Davide Bresadola
2   France:   Lea Lemare, Ronan Lamy Chappuis, Julia Clair, Vincent Descombes Sevoie
3   Finland:   Julia Kykkaenen, Jarkko Maeaetae, Susanna Forsstroem, Janne Ahonen
4   Russia:   Irina Avvakumova, Ilmir Hazetdinov, Sofia Tikhonova, Mikhail Maksimmochkin
5   United States of America:   Nita Englund, Nicholas Alexander, Sarah Hendrickson, William Rhoads
6   Czech Republic:   Michaela Dolezelova, Viktor Polasek, Barbora Blazkova, Jan Matura
7   Japan:   Sara Takanashi, Noriaki Kasai, Yuki Ito, Taku Takeuchi
8   Norway:   Line Jahr, Anders Bardal, Maren Lundby, Rune Velta
9   Slovenia:   Maja Vtic, Nejd Dezman, Spela Rogelj, Peter Prevc
10   Germany:   Carina Vogt, Richard Freitag, Katharina Althaus, Severin Freund
11   Austria:   Daniela Iraschko-Stolz, Michael Hayboeck, Jacqueline Seifriedsberger, Stefan Kraft

First notable fact is that the first group of the ladies is the stronger one judging by the individual competition: World Champion, bronze medalist, 4th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 19th, 23rd, 29th, 30th, 32nd were in the first group. In the third group jumped: silver medalist, 6th, 7th, 10th, 15th, 17th, 20th, 21st, 33rd, 39th and 40th.
   Training round was cancelled after the first group, which meant that assumption had to be based on the individual competitions. In ladies, Germany had 1st and 17th, Japan 2nd and 4th, Austria 3rd and 7th, Slovenia 10th and 13th, and Norway 15th and 19th. In men, Norway had 1st and 6th, Germany 2nd and 7th, Austria 3rd and 21st, Japan 5th and 35th and Slovenia 13th and 20th. The strongest candidates for the medal were Germans, Japan and Austria, but they could challenged by Norwegians and Slovenians.

FIS Ski World Championships, Mixed Team Event (22nd of February, 2015)

First round:

First round was held under cloudy skies, and the wind was towards the jumpers through the whole round. First group had already jumped during the cancelled trial round, the rest was a bit of mistery.

First group [Gate 23, Wind towards: 0.97 m/s (-6.2 points) to 2.08 m/s (-13.3 p)] :

First jump of the competition was performed by Elena Runggaldier. Italian jumped 84.0 meters (-11.4/0.0), and scored 85.6 points. Lea Lemare was the first French jumper: 82.5 meters (-7.5/0.0), and 87.0 points. Julia Kykkaenen's was important for Finland. Kykkaenen had to jump very well, so the team would have a good advantage over the teams competing against them: Kykkaenen flew 86.0 meters (-6.2/0.0), and got 96.8 points, which was enough for 8th place, last qualifying position for the second round. Irina Avvakumova took the current lead with a jump of 88.0 meters (-7.9/0.0), and total score of 99.1. Nita Englund was the first jumper to cross 90.0 meters. Englund landed at 94.0 meters (-10.7/0.0) and scored 107.3 points. According to the wind data, Michaela Dolezelova had the best conditions: she didn't capitalize it, as Czech jumper jumped 85.0 meters (-13.3/0.0). Sara Takanashi was 4th in the second important event in a row. The first jumper of the defending champions flew 96.5 meters (-11.9/0.0), and she took the lead from Englund by 4.8 points. Line Jahr was 19th in the individual competition, but Norwegian surprised everyone: 93.5 meters (-9.4/0.0) and 108.1 points brought 4th after the first group. Maja Vtic didn't do as good as Jahr: Slovenian jumped 88.5 meters (-10.3/0.0), and scored 97.7 points. World Champion from the individual event, Carina Vogt, did a good job by flying 93.5 meters (-11.3/0.0) and scoring 108.7 points. Her launch for the jump was a bit early, which didn't give Vogt longer distance. Daniela Iraschko-Stolz landed at 95.5 meters (-7.9/0.0), and scored 113.6 points. After the first group, TOP6 was: 1. Austria 113.6 points, 2. Japan 112.1 p, 3. Germany 108.7 p, 4. Norway 108.1 p, 5. United States of America 107.3 p, 6. Russia 99.1 p.

Second group [Gate 12, Wind towards: 0.45 m/s (-2.9 p) to 1.37 m/s (-8.8 p)] :

In the second group, Richard Freitag performed the best jump: 93.5 meters (-7.0/0.0), and a score of 115.0 points allowed Germans to take the lead. Anders Bardal got closest to Freitag, as Norwegian scored 111.8 points with a jump of 92.5 meters (-7.2/0.0). Noriaki Kasai kept Japanese jumpers in the World Championship fight by jumping 90.0 meters (-6.7/0.0) and scoring 105.8 points. Austrians' competition got more difficult after Michael Hayboeck's jump: he landed as early 83.0 meters (-2.9/0.0) and he scored 93.6 points, be had the worst conditions of the group. After two groups, the order of TOP6 was: 1. Germany 223.7 p, 2. Norway 219.9 p, 3. Japan 217.9 p, 4. Austria 207.2 p, 5. Slovenia 201.3 p, 6. United States of America 194.0 p.

Third group [Gate 25, Wind towards: 0.59 m/s (-3.8 p) to 2.04 m/s (-13.1 p)] :

Evelyn Insam started the second group of ladies by jumping 86.0 meters (-8.3/0.0) and scoring 94.7 points didn't help Italians as much as they hoped. Julia Clair flew 88.0 meters (-8.4/0.0) and got 100.1 points. Susanna Forsstroem couldn't help Finland, as 19-year-old jumper tried her best by flying 76.5 meters (-6.9/0.0) and scoring 72.1 points, which dropped Finland from the fight for second round. Sofia Tikhonova jumped 87.0 meters (-4.6/0.0) and got 99.9 points. Sarah Hendrickson celebrated enthusiastically after her jump: 98.5 meters (-4.2/0.0), new official ladies' hill record, and the score of 120.8 points was the best one of the whole group. Barbora Blazkova did what she could, but Czech's jump of 80.5 meters (-5.5/0.0) beat only Forsstroem's score in the group. Silver medalisr from the individual competition, Yuki Ito got the lowest minus points from wind compensation, and her jump didn't impress either: 88.5 meters (-3.8/0.0), and Ito's 101.7 points were 'only' 6th best. Maren Lundby didn't finish in TOP10 in the individual competition, but Norwegian's score of 116.4 points were 2nd best in the group: 95.0 meters (-7.1/0.0) helped to decrease the gap to Germans. Spela Rogelj flew 90.5 meters (-5.4/0.0) and scored 108.1 points. Katharina Althaus had quite a high set bar after Lundby's jump: German landed at 91.0 meters (-7.2/0.0), but Althaus' 107.3 points meant that Germans had to hand their lead to Norwegians. The third group ended with another excellent as jump, as Jacqueline Seifriedsberger flew 96.5 meters (-13.1/0.0), assisted by the strongest wind according to the computers, and Austrian was the third best jumper by collecting 109.9. TOP6 after 3 groups: 1. Norway 336.3 p, 2. Germany 331.0 p, 3. Japan 319.6 p, 4. Austria 317.1 p, 5. United States of America 314.8 p, 6. Slovenia 309.4 p.

Fourth group [Gate 13, Wind towards: 0.61 m/s (-3.9 p) to 1.47 m/s (-9.4 p)] :

Davide Bresadola's 91.5 meters (-9.0/0.0) was a pleasant surprise, but couldn't assist Italians to the second round. TOP3 teams after the first three groups gave the strongest performances: Germany's Severin Freund landed at 97.0 meters (-8.3/0.0), new men's official hill record and he topped the scores with 122.2 points. Rune Velta wasn't so far, as the men's normal hill champion flew 95.0 meters (-7.6/0.0), and collected 119.4 points, which was enough to keep Norwegians in the lead. Taku Takeuchi got only 4.0 points less than Freund, 118.2 points by jumping 95.0 meters (-6.3/0.0). Second round wasn't for Italians, Finns and jumpers from Czech Republic. Here are the results after the first round, not qualified are in underlined: 1. Norway 455.7 p, 2. Germany 453.2 p, 3. Japan 437.8 p, 4. Austria 428.7 p, 5. Slovenia 427.3 p, 6. United States of America 395.5 p, 7. France 387.8 p, 8. Russia 382.2 p, 9. Italy 374.5 p, 10. Finland 369.5 p, 11. Czech Republic 351.2 p. United States of America qualified for the second round, which was to me a slight surprise, but even bigger was to see French jumpers in TOP8. I thought that Italians could have finished higher.

Mixed Team Event, detailed 1st round results, World Championships, Falun, Sweden, 2015

Second round:

Clouds remained on the skies above Lugnet's Ski Jumping Center, as the second was about to begin. The jumping order for the round was: France, Russia, United States of America, Japan, Norway, Slovenia, Germany and Austria. Some of the jumpers had to cope with a slight wind from behind.

First group [Gate 25, Wind towards: 0.39 m/s (-2.5 p) to 0.88 m/s (-5.6 p)] :

Lea Lemare started the second round by flying 83.0 meters (-4.9/0.0). Irina Avvakumova crossed 90.0 meters with a jump of 91.5 meters (-5.6/0.0) and Russian's score of 108.9 points was 4th best of the group. Nita Englund got the worst condition, and her flight ended at 87.5 meters (-2.5/0.0). Japanese hoped for a good jump from Takanashi, which could get Japan a lot closer to TOP2. Takanashi flew 93.0 meters (-3.3/0.0), but she topped the group's ranking with 114.2 points. Jahr didn't amazing job on the first round, and once again she performed very well: Norwegian landed at 90.5 meters (-5.6/0.0) and scored 107.9 points. Vtic couldn't cope with the hill so well, as Slovenian's second jump came down at 85.5 meters (-3.1/0.0) and gave her 98.4 points, which practically threw Slovenians out of the medal competition. Vogt had to overtake Norwegians: Vogt topped the speed rankings with 85.9 km/h (53.387 mph), launched herself into the air, and her skies touched the ground at 92.0 meters (-3.3/0.0). Vogt's score of 112.7 was 3rd best, and it was enough to return Germans to the lead, even though Carina's launch seemed to begin a bit too late. Iraschko-Stolz perfomed second good jump by landing at 92.5 meters (-5.6/0.0) and scoring 112.9 points. TOP6: 1. Germany 565.9 p, 2. Norway 563.6 p, 3. Japan 552.0 p, 4. Austria 541.6 p, 5. Slovenia 525.6 p, 6. United States of the America 497.5 p.

Second group [Gate 14, Wind: 0.10 m/s from behind (+0.8 p) to 1.10 m/s (-7.0 p)] :

Austrians dropped out of the medal contention even more, as Hayboeck landed at 87.5 (-5.8/0.0) and got only 101.7 points. TOP3 kept being strong: Richard Freitag kept Germans in the lead by flying 92.0 meters (-3.8/0.0) and gathering 115.7 points. Anders Bardal kept the fight tight, as Norwegian got 110.6 points thanks to a jump of 89.5 meters (-1.4/0.0). Noriaki Kasai jumped 88.5 meters (-2.1/0.0) and scored 107.4 points. Nejc Dezman was in the competition the only jumper, who got positive points from wind compensation, and the conditions forced him to land at 86.5 meters (+0.8/0.0). The most dramatic jump of the competition belonged to Nicholas Alexander: jumper from the United States of America was probably surprised by the conditions, as he got the highest minus points in the group from the wind, and Alexander improved by 8.0 meters from the first round, and he landed at 90.5 meters (-7.0/0.0), but unfortunately his uncontrolled landing lead to a terribly looking fall. He couldn't stand up, and the competition was stopped for five minutes. Alexander was taken to hospital, and doctor's analysis confirmed a knee injury, which required a surgery. Unluck of United States' male jumpers kept increasing as only a bit over a month earlier Nicholas Fairall landed in the hospital after his fall in Bischoshofen due to issues with his spinal cord. Fairall's treatment has been funded by other jumpers, such as the German team's victory money from Zakopane's team event, double Olympic Chapion from Sochi Kamil Stoch and Olympic Champion from Sapporo Wojciech Fortuna. Get well, Nicholas Fairall and Alexander! TOP6: 1. Germany 671.6 p, 2. Norway 664.2 p, 3. Japan 659.4 p, 4. Austria 643.3 p, 5. Slovenia 630.4 p, 6. Russia 586.6 p.

Third group [Gate 26, Wind towards: 0.20 m/s (-1.3 p) to 1.53 m/s (-9.8 p)] :

Clair begun the third group of the round by jumping 86.5 meters (-5.1/0.0). Tikhonova flew 89.0 meters (-1.3/0.0) and got 106.2 points. Hendrickson wanted to decrease the gap to Russians after Alexander's unlucky jump: Hendrickson landed at 94.0 meters (-2.7/0.0) and topped the scores with 115.8 points. Ito performed a bit better on the second round with a jump of 90.5 meters (-3.9/0.0) and score of 110.1 points. Lundby was in a tough situation: she had to decrease the gap to Germans so Velta would have better chances to challenge Freund. Lunby flew 91.5 meters (-1.5/0.0) and got 115.5 points. Rogelj jumped 92.5 meters (-3.8/0.0). Althaus had to answer Lundby's jump: the German got the a bit lucky with the conditions, and she carried her flight to 92.5 meters (-9.8/0.0), scoring 108.7 points, but Norwegians decreased the gap. Seifriedsberger concluded the group with a jump of 90.0 meters (-2.0/0.0). TOP8: 1. Germany 790.3 p, 2. Norway 789.7 p, 3. Japan 769.5 p, 4. Austria 749.8 p, 5. Slovenia 745.7 p, 6. United States of America 697.8 p, 7. Russia 692.8 p, 8. 675.9 p

Fourth group [Gate 15, Wind towards: 0.13 m/s (-0.8 p) to 0.78 m/s (-5.0 p)] :

The start order for the final group was: France, Russia, United States of America, Slovenia, Austria, Japan, Norway and Germany. TOP2 teams were separated by 0.6 points, which was exactly the same amount as after Carina Vogt's and Line Jahr's first jumps; just incredible, and what an exciting battle was coming between Freund and Velta, TOP2 in men's individual event!

Descombes Sevoie jumped 85.0 meters (-2.2/0.0). Maksimochkin flew 86.5 meters (-5.0/0.0), and it was enough to beat the United States of America because William Rhoads landed as early as 83.0 meters (-3.5/0.0). Peter Prevc challenged Austrians by jumping 94.5 meters (-0.8/0.0), but Stefan Kraft's 95.0 meters (-4.8/0.0) were enough to keep Austrians 4th. Takeuchi secured 3rd position for Japan by flying 93.5 meters (-3.2/0.0). Rune Velta prepared for his jump, got into the air and landed at 95.5 meters (-2.1/0.0), which gave him 125.9 points and Norwegian team 915.6 points in total. Velta kept his hands up in the air after his jump the same way as the evening before, when he won the individual goal on the same hill. It was all down to Severin Freund. German pushed himself of the starting bench, launched himself into the air, and his skies touched the ground at 96.0 meters (-2.4/0.0). Freund wasn't sure after his jump, whether it was enough. Everyone was waiting, and waiting. After the calculating came to its end, next to the team Germany appeared... Number 1! Carina Vogt became the first ever double female World Champion in the same World Championships. Germans were shouting, jumping, hugging, relieved, happy and emotional after the results were announced. Anders Bardal's disappointment was seen from his face. He and his team had lost the gold medal by 2.3 points, a bit over one meter.

Results of the Mixed Team Event, FIS Ski World Championships, Falun, February 22nd, 2015:

1. Gemany (Carina Vogt, Richard Freitag, Katharina Althaus, Severin Freund)   917.9 points
2. Norway (Line Jahr, Anders Bardal, Maren Lundby, Rune Velta)   915.6 p
3. Japan (Sara Takanashi, Noriaki Kasai, Yuki Ito, Taku Takeuchi)   888.3 p
4. Austria (Iraschko-Stolz, Hayboeck, Seifriedsberger, Kraft)   869.5 p
5. Slovenia (Vtic, Dezman, Rogelj, Prevc)   868.4 p
6. Russia (Avvakumova, Hazetdinov, Tikhonova, Maksimochkin)   791.8 p
7. United States of America (Englund, Alexander, Hendrickson, Rhoads)   789.3 p
8. France (Lemare, Lamy Chappuis, Clair, Descombes Sevoie)   773.2 p
9. Italy (Runggaldier, Colloredo, Insam, Bresadola)   374.5 p
10. Finland (Kykkaenen, Maeaettae, Forsstroem, Ahonen)   369.5 p
11. Czech Republic (Dolezelova, Polasek, Blazkova, Matura)   351.2 p

Mixed Team Event, Official Results, World Championships, Falun, Sweden, 2015

Competition was extremely exciting, interesting, and remarkable. Carina Vogt made once again history in ladies' ski jumping, new team achieved the world championship title, and Norway got on podium as a new team. This competition was surely one of the highlights during the World Championships in Falun.

Mixed Team Event all time medals ranking:
1. Germany   1  -   1
1. Japan   1  -  1
3. Austria   -  1  -
3. Norway   -  1  -

Short FLENAA analysis: Jumper of the day among FLENAA was Sarah Hendrickson, who succeeded on both rounds incredibly. She topped her group in the rankings. Carina Vogt did good job, but I expected from her a bit more, as she was third best in her group, behind Iraschko-Stolz and Takanashi, but the most important thing is that her jumps helped the team achieve the result. I was a bit skeptical after Germans had announced that Althaus would be the jumper beside Vogt to participate in the mixed team event. After the first round it didn't look good, but on the second round Althaus was a bit lucky with the conditions, but she really did pull a good jump, when it was necessary. Sofia Tikhonova did two solid jumps, and her competition went as expected. Julia Kykkaenen did decent job on the first round, but her team couldn't qualify for the second round. Maja Vtic didn't show anything special, which was a slight disappointment to me. Below you may see a sort of a performance table:

Jumper                                            ++      +     +/-     -     --                               total:
Carina Vogt                                   0        1       0      0     0                                  +
Maja Vtic                                       0        0       0      1     0                                   -
Sarah Hendrickson                       1        0       0      0     0                                 ++
Katharina Althaus                        0        1       0      0     0                                   +
Sofia Tikhonova                            0        0       1      0     0                                  +/-
Julia Kykkaenen                           0        0       1      0     0                                  +/-

For the next season, I'll do this sort of a performance ranking, but besides that I'll create a ranking with points, which will decide, who gets the first ever FLENAA-trophy, but that's a thing, which may be used during the Grand Prix season.

All in all, I'd really like to thank you for reading this post, and the support, which really motivates, 15 followers is quite good. The next post will be the first episode of the new series: Profiling the Flying Ladies. Carina Vogt will be represented in the first post. Hopefully, you'll enjoy your day, and click the Follow-button! :)

Historical Weekend Analyses of Ladies' Ski Jumping: Chapter 4: Oslo's finale - Takanashi's hat-trick completed

Greetings!

It's time for the last Weekend Analyses of Ladies' Ski Jumping for 2014/2015 season. Almost a month of waiting came to it's end yesterday. This time I won't go through all the sessions detail by detail. Short summary of two training rounds will lead us to the trial round, and the final competition.

Friday, March 13th, 2015, Holmenkollen, Oslo, Norway (Training rounds + Trial round + Finale) :

Two training rounds were held on Friday morning. Sunny weather, and mostly good wind from towards gave great conditions for practice jumps. Starting gate was set altered from position 28 to 30, and 29, and then back to 30. There were 32 competitiors, as the host country, Norway, had a right to give two of their jumpers a chance to participate, 30 remaining competitiors earned the right by being in TOP30 after 12 competitions.
     First round's jumps weren't on the highest level: longest jump was 122.5 meters (-13.7/0.0) by Taylor Henrich, but the shortest jump was 89.0 meters (-10.1/0.0) by Anna Odine Stroem. The most interesting battles were for World Cup's 1st and 3rd place. In the battle for 3rd position, Spela Rogelj jumped 112.0 meters (-3.2/+3.3), while Carina Vogt flew 108.5 meters (-0.2/+3.3). Sara Takanashi landed at 116.0 meters (-3.7/+3.3), and Daniela Iraschko-Stolz 115.5 meters (-1.3/+3.7). Yuki Ito was the best jumper of the round: 117.5 meters (-2.5/+3.3), and a total score of 56.3. Iraschko-Stolz was 2nd, 53.9, followed surprisingly by a Finn Julia Kykkaenen, with a score of 53.8 points. Julia Clair was 4th, Sara Takanashi 5th, Taylor Henrich 6th, Spela Rogelj 8th and Carina Vogt 14th.
   On the second round, some of the jumpers had to manage a slight wind from behind. Round's longest jump, and the best points belonged to Slovenian Maja Vtic: 128.0 meters (-11.8/0.0) and 62.6 points. In contrast, Katja Pozun flew only 96.5 meters (+1.4/0.0). Rogelj jumped better than Vogt: Rogelj flew 120.0 meters (-10.5/0.0), and Vogt landed at 117.0 meters (-14.5/0.0). Rogelj's score 49.5 were enough for 7th place, Vogt was 16th with 40.1 points. Takanashi came in second: 127.0 meters (-12.9/0.0), and 59.7 points gave her 2nd place. Iraschko-Stolz flew 122.5 meters (-10.1/0.0), scored 54.4, and finished in 4th. 3rd position was achieved by Jacqueline Seifriedsberger, who jumped 123.5 meters (-7.5/0.0), and got 58.8 points. Takanashi, and Iraschko-Stolz seemed strong.

Training rounds' full results (PDF-file), Holmenkollen HS134, Oslo

Trial round [Gate 31, gate 32 (-3.3 points), gate 30 (+3.3 p), Wind: 0.65 m/s from behind (+7.8 p) to 0.74 m/s towards (-7.3 p)] :

Evening's sky was clear, as ladies prepared for their last trial round of the season. All the jumps were above 95.0 meters, shortest jump belonged to Anna Odine Stroem: 95.5 meters (+7.8/0.0), but the worst wind conditions explain partly the result. The first jumper over 120.0 meters was Taylor Henrich, who landed at 120.5 meters (+3.2/0.0). Norwegians Maren Lundby jumped 120.5 meters (-1.1/-3.3), and Line Jahr's flight ended at 120.0 meters (-4.3/-3.3). Longest jump of the round was perfomed by Sarah Hendrickson: Hendrickson flew 128.0 meters (-3.0/-3.3), and the total score of 68.1 brought her the 1st position. Maja Vtic kept proving her strong form: Slovenian jumped 118.5 meters (+1.2/+3.3), and came in 4th. Yuki Ito finished 3rd, as Japanese jumper flew 116.5 meters (+6.6/+3.3). Spela Rogelj also landed at 116.5 meters (+3.4/+3.3), and gathered 60.4 points. Carina Vogt improved from the morning, as the German flew 118.0 meters (+3.6/+3.3), scored 64.2 points, and finished 2nd. Sara Takanashi got into a bit more challenging conditions, but she managed to fly 115.0 meters (+6.0/+3.3). Daniela Iraschko-Stolz jumped 116.0 meters (+5.4/+3.3), and total score of 61.5 brought Austrian 5th place. Jacqueline Seifriedsberger didn't participate.
TOP8: 1. Hendrickson USA 68.1, 2. Vogt GER 64.2, 3. Ito JPN 63.6, 4. Vtic SLO 61.8, 5. Iraschko-Stolz AUT 61.5, 6. Henrich CAN 60.8, 7. Rogelj SLO 60.4, 8. Takanashi JPN 60.3

Trial round's full results (PDF-file), Holmenkollen, Oslo

Finale, final competition:

Based on the training rounds and trail round, there were many candidates for the win: Sara Takanashi, Daniela Iraschko-Stolz, Maja Vtic, Yuki Ito, Taylor Henrich, Sarah Hendrickson, and perhaps Carina Vogt. There was also room for surprises: Julia Kykkaenen, Julia Clair, and Jacqueline Seifriedsberger could mix the TOP6 order, if everything went the way they hope. Now, let's go to the first round.

First round [Gate 32, Wind: 0.50 m/s from behind (+6.0 p)  to 0.13 m/s towards (-1.3 p)] :

Skies remained clear, as the final competition of the season was about to begin. Wind didn't alter much, but some jumpers got slight wind towards. Number 1 belonged to Anna Odine Stroem. Young lady from Alta, Norway, jumped 98.0 meters (+4.2/0.0), and her total score of 68.6 was unlikely to bring her a chance for the second round. Julia Kykkaenen proved that her 3rd position on the first training round wasn't purely luck: she flew 119.5 meters (+1.4/0.0), and scored 112.0 points. Finn jumped with number 6, and she kept her lead, until Jessica Jerome. Jumper from the United States of America landed at 120.5 meters (+4.0/0.0), and gathered 114.4 in total. Jerome couldn't enjoy for her 1st place for long: Canadian Taylor Henrich, launched herself into the air, and her skies didn't touch the ground until she had flown 127.0 meters (+1.0/0.0). She beat Jerome by 10.2 points. Austrian Chiara Hoelzl joined Stroem's under 100 meters' club: 98.5 meters (+1.4/0.0), and she didn't qualify for the second round, with a score of 70.2; last jumper to qualify was Yuka Seto, who jumped 101.0 meters (-1.1/0.0), and scored 71.7 points. It was quite surprising, since Jerome's start number was 15, Henrich's 16, and Hoelzl's 17. After 22 jumpers of 32, Henrich was leading, followed by Jerome and Kykkaenen.

Sarah Hendrickson started TOP10 group: she was the lady to beat Henrich: Hendrickson flew 126.5 meters (+3.2/0.0) and gathered 126.4 points. Nita Englund wasn't even close to her team mate Hendrickson, as Englund landed as early as at 108.0 meters (+1.1/0.0), and was 25th after the first round. Jacqueline Seifriedsberger jumped 118.5 meters (+3.4/0.0), and took current 4th. Maja Vtic flew once again over the K-point: 123.5 meters (+3.7/0.0), and her total score of 122.5 got her 4th place after the first round. Eva Pinkelnig was 13th with a jump of 118.5 meters (+2.6/0.0). Yuki Ito had the strongest average wind from behind, and Japanese jumper landed at 117.5 meters (+6.0/0.0). Ito scored 114.5 points. Spela Rogelj had to take current 1st place to have some sort of hope to take bronze in the World Cup. Slovenian jumped 119.5 meters (+3.8/0.0), and she took current 7th. Carina Vogt's task got a bit easier: Vogt topped the lists with a speed of 94.1 km/h (58,484 mph), and she crossed 120.0 meters for the first time, since German flew 125.0 meters (+0.7/0.0). Vogt scored 121.2 in total, and was current 4th. Sara Takanashi had even bigger mission: to complete it, she couldn't be lower than 1st: she did her part by flying 128.0 meters (+5.9/0.0), and scoring 131.3 points. Daniela Iraschko-Stolz had to finish in TOP20, and it required from her on the first round higher score than 93.1 points. It was easy for Iraschko-Stolz, who got the biggest minus points from compensation: Austrian jumped 125.0 meters (-1.3/0.0), and scored 114.2, which was enough for 8th position. Anna Odine Stroem and Chiara Hoelzl didn't qualify, and TOP3 was Takanashi, Hendrickson and Henrich.
TOP15: 1. Takanashi JPN 131.3, 2. Hendrickson USA 126.4, 3. Henrich CAN 124.6, 4. Vtic SLO 122.5, 5.  Vogt GER 121.2, 6. Ito JPN 114.5, 7. Jerome USA 114.4, 8. Iraschko-Stolz AUT 114.2, 9. Seifriedsberger AUT 112.7, 10. Rogelj SLO 112.1, 11. Kykkaenen FIN 112.0, 12. Lundby NOR 111.9, 13. Pinkelnig AUT 109.9, 14. Avvakumova RUS 104.7, 15. Graessler GER 98.4

Second round, final round of the season [Gate 32, Wind: 0.67 m/s from behind (+8.0) to 0.04 m/s towards (-0.4)] :

The final round of the 2014/2015 season in Ladies' Ski Jumping World Cup was held under clear skies, and begun by Yuka Seto. Seto jumped 100.5 meters (+2.2/0.0), and Japanese jumper's total score of 142.8 gave her 30th place in the results, and it was 11.5 points more than Sara Takanashi had collected on the first round! Sofia Tikhonova got a small advantage from the best conditions of the round: 114.5 meters (-0.4/0.0), and Russian got from 21st to 18th. The biggest climb of the round was five positions, and for the crowd's, it was done by Line Jahr. Norwegian flew 115.0 meters (+2.6/0.0), and scored 198.6 points, which got her from 20th to 15th in the results. Irina Avvakumova took the lead from Jahr: Russian flew 117.5 meters (+7.6/0.0), and gathered 217.8 points. She didn't enjoy the lead for long, as Pinkelnig had the worst conditions of the round, she landed at 117.5 meters (+8.0/0.0), and her total score was 221.4 points. Lundby couldn't beat the Austrian: Lundby jumped 115.0 meters (+4.6/0.0), scored 217.5 points, and finished in 13th as the best Norwegian of the day. Julia Kykkaenen finished her season in a good style: 118.0 meters (+4.1/0.0), and her score of 222.2 gave her the current lead. After 20 jumpers, TOP3 was: Kykkaenen, Pinkelnig and Avvakumova.

TOP10 started with Spela Rogelj's jump. Slovenian needed a miracle to finish in TOP3 in this season's World Cup: Rogelj did her best, but 118.0 meters (+3.7/0.0) gave her 'only 2.0 points lead over Kykkaenen, whcih wasn't quite enough to make a major climb. Jacqueline Seifriedsberger dropped to 14th, because Austrian landed at 112.5 meters (+4.1/0.0), and scored 212.3 points in total. Iraschko-Stolz prepared for her final jump of the season. Austrian had to jump about 70 meters to secure her World Cup victory: she flew 123.0 meters (+5.4/0.0), and got 237.0 points in total: Austrian won the Overall World Cup. Jerome didn't stay in TOP10: 28-year-old jumper jumped 116.0 meters (+5.3/0.0), and 220.5 points brought 11th position in the results. Ito flew 117.0 meters (+4.0/0.0), and scored 24.6, which dropped Rogelj to current 3rd. Vogt prepared for her last World Cup jump of the season: Vogt gained 94.0 km/h (58,421 mph), which equaled Avvakumova's result. German flew in the air, and her skies didn't touch the ground until 121.0 meters (+4.0/0.0). Vogt for the result, got 239.5 points! She took the lead, secured 3rd place in the World Cup, and now it was all about waiting, whether Vogt be on podium. Vtic did decent job, as Slovenian jumped 118.5 meters (+4.8/0.0), and finished sixth in the final competition. Henrich didn't waist her opportunity for podium: Canadian flew 123.5 meters (+6.0/0.0), and Henrich took the lead by 10.9 points. Hendrickson wanted to her first win since March 2013, which was also from Holmenkollen. Jumper from the United States pushed herself of the starting bench, she equaled Vogt and Avvakumova in speed, and Hendrickson launched herself into the air. Hendrickson achieved the longest distance of the competition: 128.5 meters (+4.4/0.0) gave her 130.7 points, and 257.1 in total. Hendrickson was leading, and Takanashi didn't have an easy task. Japanese jumper didn't have much pressure, as the World Cup dream was gone, but Takanashi completed her hat-trick by jumping 127.0 meters (+6.4/0.0), scoring 132.5 points, the highest amount on the second round as well. Takanashi won by 6.7 points.
TOP15: 1. Takanashi JPN 263.8, 2. Hendrickson USA 257.1, 3. Henrich CAN 250.4, 4. Vogt GER 239.5, 5. Iraschko-Stolz AUT 237.0, 6. Vtic SLO 233.6, 7. Ito JPN 224.6, 8. Rogelj SLO 224.2, 9. Kykkaenen FIN 222.2, 10. Pinkelnig AUT 221.4, 11. Jerome USA 220.5, 12. Avvakumova RUS 217.8, 13. Lundby NOR 217.5, 14. Seifriedsberger AUT 212.3, 15. Jahr NOR 198.6

It was quite an exciting competition, and the results ment slight changes in TOP20 of Ladies' Ski Jumping World Cup standings (Final Standings) :
1. Daniela Iraschko-Stolz   AUT   1007 poinys
2. Sara Takanashi   JPN   973 p   -34 p
3. Carina Vogt   GER   672 p   -335 p
4. Spela Rogelj   SLO   581 p   -426 p
5. Yuki Ito   JPN   434 p   -573 p
6. Maja Vtic   SLO   418 p   -589 p
7. Eva Pinkelnig   AUT   408 p   -599p
8. Sarah Hendrickson   USA   399 p   -608 p
9. Jacqueline Seifriedsberger   AUT   370 p   -637 p
10. Nita Englund   USA   332 p   -675 p
11. Irina Avvakumova   RUS   315 p   -692 p
12. Line Jahr   NOR   306 p   -701 p
13. Katharina Althaus   GER   299 p   -708 p
14. Maren Lundby   NOR   289 p   -718 p
15. Taylor Henrich   CAN   230 p   -777 p
16. Juliane Seyfarth   GER   222p   -785 p
17. Chiara Hoelzl   AUT   185 p   -822 p
18. Jessica Jerome   USA   168 p   -839 p
19. Sofia Tikhonova   RUS   154 p   -853 p
20. Julia Clair   FRA   151 p   -856 p

Iraschko-Stolz took deserved Overall World Cup victory, by winning 5 competitions, but especially finishing only three times outside the podium: 4th in Sapporo, 8th in Zao and 5th in Oslo. Sara Takanashi was the best jumper by winning 6 competitions, but finishing in 7th in Zao, 5th in Oberstdorf, and 8th in Hinzenbach, was too much. Carina Vogt took two victories this season, first victory ever, and she finished 6 times on podium, but she was absent from Ljubno. Also Spela Rogelj was capable of winning a competition, the season opener in Lillerhammer. There were 13 competitions, but Iraschko-Stolz and Takanashi were equally first in Ljubno's second competition. Hendrickson finished the season with a train of podiums, but win would have raised her on 6th place in the standings. Other jumpers, who finished on podium during the season, were Englung, Avvakumova, Lundby, Henrich and Hoelzl. Henrich participated only in 5 competitions due to financial restrictions, which gives her average of 46 points/competition: that's admirable!

In conclusion, I must say that it was quite a long season, as was also my last Weekend Analyses. What makes it historical, is that this is the last post of Carina Vogt's Fanclub: don't worry, this blog will continue its functioning under a new name, starting on Monday, 16th of March. Thank you for this World Cup season, I apologize for this horrifically long post, but there were so many things to take into account. Hopefully you enjoyed the reports, and will look forward to the new phase of this blog. Click the Follow-button, to find out about this blog's future, it will be very much appreciated: you won't miss the latest action from the world of ladies ski jumping! Enjoy your day! :)

Final World Cup Standings Individual, Ladies Ski Jumping 2014/2015 (PDF-file)
Final World Cup Standings Nations, Ladies Ski Jumping 2014/2015 (PDF-file)
The official results of the 2014/2015 finale, FIS Ladies Ski Jumping, Holmenkollen, Oslo, Norway (PDF-file)
Results after the first round, FIS Ladies Ski Jumping, March 13th, 2015, Holmenkollen, Oslo Norway (PDF-file)

30th post of the blog: Weekend Preview of Ladies' Ski Jumping: Chapter 4: All roads lead to Oslo (Holmenkollen)

Greetings!

This is the last Weekend Preview of the 2014/2015 season. Let's get straight to the preview, as the season finale is less than 24 hours away from now.

Oslo's Holmenkollbakken HS134 hill is different from all the hills, which we've seen this season: the largest hill so far was at Oberstdorf, HS106. To take victory, jumps altered between 85 and 105 meters, and now these female jumpers must adjust to the large hill. Last season's winner, Sara Takanashi jumped 132.0 meters and 128.5 meters. It takes more courage to reach those distances, not forgetting the technique, and good conditions. Ladies' hill record belongs to Takanashi, 134.0 meters from 17th of March, 2013.

Let's take a closer look for the previous season's results:
1. Sara Takanashi   JPN   132.0 meters + 128.5 meters  = 257.6 points
2. Katja Pozun   SLO   122.0 m + 122.5 m  = 218.5 p
3. Yuki Ito   JPN   122.5 m + 125.0 m  = 216.2 p
4. Irina Avvakumova   RUS   120.0 m + 121.5 m  = 209.1 p
5. Taylor Henrich   CAN   117.0 m + 121.5 m  = 207.7 p
6. Maja Vtic   SLO   117.5 m + 123.0 m = 207.2 p
7. Maren Lundby   NOR   122.5 m + 115.0 m  = 206.3 p
8. Gyda Enger   NOR   124.0 m + 115.5 m  = 206.1 p
9. Line Jahr   NOR   114.5 m + 120.0 m  = 204.5 p
10. Jessica Jerome   USA   118.0 m + 117.0 m  = 203.2 p

There are some interesting things to note: Carina Vogt, Daniela Iraschko-Stolz and Sarah Hendrickson didn't participate. There were only 30 competitiors, which might mean that the finale has the same rules as men's competition: only TOP30 of current World Cup competitors are allowed to participate. One side also is that the average age of TOP3 was less than 20 years, so young jumpers might be in better position, as they probably have more courage to fly as far as possible. Let's move on to the contemporary situation.

Latest competitions were organized in Falun, World Championships, HS100 hill. Carina Vogt won, Daniela Iraschko-Stolz was 2nd, Yuki Ito 3rd and Sara Takanashi 4th. They probably will be fighting for the win. We shouldn't also forget Sarah Hendrickson, Slovenian Vtic & Rogelj, Maren Lundby and Taylor Henrich. World Cup will conclude, but it's not yet for sure, who'll win the Overall Cup. Standings are quite interesting:
1. D. Iraschko-Stolz   AUT   962
2. S. Takanashi   JPN   873   -89
3. C. Vogt   GER   622   -340
4. S. Rogelj   SLO   549   -413
5. Y. Ito   JPN   398   -564
6. E. Pinkelnig   AUT   382   -580
7. M. Vtic   SLO   378   -584
8. J. Seifriedsberger   AUT  352   -610
9. N. Englund   USA   324   -638
10. S. Hendrickson   USA   319   -643
11. I. Avvakumova   RUS   293   -669
12. L. Jahr   NOR   290   -672
13. K. Althaus   GER   288   -675
14. M. Lundby   NOR   269   -693
15. J. Seyfarth   GER   215   -747
...
17. T. Henrich   CAN   170   -792
19. S. Tikhonova   RUS   141   -821

1st place will be either for Iraschko-Stolz or Takanashi. Vogt and Rogelj will finish in TOP4. Ito, Pinkelnig, Vtic and perhaps Seifriedsberger will fight for 5th. Hendrickson might finish 8th, and Avvakumova must watch out for Jahr, Althaus and Lundby.

Main points to watch in the finale (World Cup wise) :
- Takanashi needs a win, and Iraschko-Stolz can't finish higher than 21st
- Vogt needs at least 9th position to secure 3rd place in the standings
- Battle for 5th will be tough: - Ito and Vtic might be the biggest candidates
- Does Hendrickson become the best jumper from the United States, and finish maybe in 8th?
- Who'll be 11th?

Takanashi's overall win is unlikely, as Iraschko-Stolz hasn't been lower than 8th this season - and there are definetly other candidates for the win: Vogt, Rogelj, Vtic, Hendrickson, Lundby and Henrich, perhaps even Vtic. It'll be also interesting to see, how far will ladies jump.

My TOP3 prediction for the competition: 1. Hendrickson, 2. Takanashi, 3. Vogt.

My TOP6 prediction for the World Cup: 1. Iraschko-Stolz, 2. Takanashi, 3. Vogt, 4. Rogelj, 5. Ito, 6. Vtic

All in all, the finale will be very interesting; don't miss it! The finale starts at 17:00 GMT+1, local time as well. This was quite a preview: hopefully you found some interesting points for the competition. Thank you very much, enjoy your day, and the season finale! :)

Weekend Analyses of Ladies' Ski Jumping: Chapter 3.3: Two winners in one competition! Ljubno's second competition is tight!!!

Greetings!

It's time for the last part of Ljubno's weekend analyses. After quite an expected podium, viewers want to see some surprises, especially Slovenian had higher hopes for their local heroes: Maja Vtic and Spela Rogelj. Let's jump into the events of Sunday, 15th of February.

Sunday, February 15th, 2015 (Qualification/Trial Round + Competition 2)

As usual, second competition's qualifying was organized just a moment before the actual competition.

Qualification [Gate 11, Wind: 0.14 m/s (+1.0 points) from behind to 0.22 m/s towards (-1.3 p)] :

Wind conditions were extremely equal on the qualifying round, the smallest variation I've seen this season. Maren Lundby's series of qualification victories came to its end, as Lundby flew 85.5 meters (-0.8/0.0), and gathered 112.7 points. Norwegian was beaten by Juliane Seyfarth, who also jumped 85.5 meters (-0.6/0.0), but scored 112.9 points. Seyfarth and Lundby were followed by Japanese jumper Kaori Iwabuchi: longest jump of the qualification, 87.0 meters (+0.2/0.0), but her lower points from style lowered her total score to 109.2. Saturday's 11th, Chiara Hoelzl was 4th with 109.0, 2015 FIS Junior World Ski Champion Sofia Tikhonova 5th with 108.9, Saturday's 10th, Line Jahr 6th with 108.8, and Katja Pozun finished in 7th with 108.4 points. Italian Veronica Gianmoena was disqualified due to illegal suit.

All of TOP10 jumpers arrived for the trial round. Thanks to high finishing position on Saturday, Sarah Hendrickson didn't have to participate in the qualifying session. Jumper from the United States of America flew nicely 89.0 meters (-0.8/0.0), and scored 67.2 in total, and was 2nd among TOP10 jumpers, beating also all of the qualification's jumpers. Avvakumova, Englund, Seifriedsberger and Vtic couldn't beat Seyfarth nor Lundby. Eva Pinkelnig jumped 88.0 meters (-1.2/0.0), and scored 64.8 points. Yuki Ito's total score was 65.0, with a jump of 88.0 meters (-1.0/0.0). Rogelj was saving her best for the competition, as Slovenian landed at 86.0 meters (-0.5/0.0), and scored 61.5 points. Sara Takanashi jumped 87.5 meters (-0.5/0.0), and got 64.5 points. Iraschko-Stolz topped the list, with a total score of 70.1, and 90.5 meters (-0.9/0.0).

It seemed like there wouldn't be major surprises on the top, but pretty equal conditions gave hope for an interesting competition.

First round [Gate 11, Wind: 0.58 m/s from behind (+4.1 p) to 0.35 m/s towards (-2.1 p)] :

Variation in wind conditions increased, which wasn't a good sign. Competion was begun by Slovenian Anja Javorsek. Javorsek jumped 75.0 meters (+0.1/0.0), and finished in 39th with a score of 89.6 points. Elena Runggaldier couldn't capitalize on round's best wind conditions according to the computers: Italian landed at 81.0 meters (-2.1/0,0) and scored 100.4 points, which was enough only for 33rd place in the competion. Qualification's third, Iwabuchi didn't impress, as she jumped 83.5 meters (+0.5/0.0), and was 19th after the first round. The next jumper after Iwabuchi, number 28, Julia Clair was the first jumper to cross the K-point: exactly 85.0 meters (+0.1/0.0), and French jumper's score of 113.1 brought her 11th position after the first round. Juliane Seyfarth took the lead of the competition after 28 jumpers with a flight of 85.0 meters (+1.2/0.0), and a score of 113.2 points. Maren Lundby didn't succeed on the first round, as her jump of 83.5 meters (+0.8/0.0) brought Norwegian 13th place after the first round. Seyfarth was beaten by Line Jahr, who flew 85.5 meters (+1.4/0.0), and scored 113.4 points.

TOP10 started with Sarah Hendrickson's jump: 89.0 meters (+0.2/0.0), longest jump of the round, and 3rd position after the first round with a score of 119.7. Irina Avvakumova didn't improve for the competition, as Russian flew 82.5 meters (+0.4/0.0), and was 20th after the first round, right ahead of Jacqueline Seifriedsberger. First of local heroes, Maja Vtic jumped 86.0 meters (+1.0/0.0), and took current 2nd. Eva Pinkelnig also landed at 86.0 meters (+1.6/0.0), and Austrian was current 4th with a score of 113.6. Yuki Ito flew 86,5 meters (+2.4/0.0), and was right behind Hendrickson with 118.4 points in total. Rogelj was right above Vtic, as Rogelj jumped 85.0 meters (+2.4/0.0), and scored 116.4 points. Sara Takanashi took the lead from Hendrickson: Japanese jumper landed at 88.5 meters (+3.1/0.0), and gathered 121.6 points. Daniela Iraschko-Stolz jumped 88.0 meters (+4.1/0.0), but highest compensation points from the wind helped her to be ranked 1st with a score of 124.6 points.
TOP10: 1. Iraschko-Stolz AUT 124.6, 2. Takanashi JPN 121.6, 3. Hendrickson USA 119.7, 4. Ito JPN 118.4, 5. Rogelj SLO 116.4, 6. Vtic SLO 115.5, 7. Englund USA 113.8, 8. Pinkelnig AUT 113.6, 9. Seyfarth GER 113.4, 10. Jahr NOR 113.2

Second round [Gate 12, Wind from behind: 0.74 m/s (+5.3) to 0.31 m/s (+2.2)] :

As the wind turned for the whole round from behind, jury decided to raise the starting position from gate 11 to gate 12. One wind direction predicted a very interesting round. Japanese jumper, Yurina Yamada, started the round with a jump of 81.0 meters (+4.9/0.0), which raised her from 30th to 23th. It was the climb of the round, equaled by Jacqueline Seifriedsberger: Austrian flew 84.0 meters (+4.9/0.0), and got from 21st to 14th. FIS Junior World Ski Champion, Sofia Tikhonova improved from her 18th place to 13th: Russian landed at 84.0 meters (+5.0/0.0), and scored 221.3 points. Saturday's 11th, Chiara Hoelzl, jumped 84.0 meters (+4.2/0.0), and gathered 222.3 points. Saturday's 4th, Lundby, couldn't improve, and Norwegian finished in 15th with a score of 218.9. After 20 jumpers, Hoelzl led, Julia Clair was 2nd, and Tikhonova 3rd.

TOP10 started with Julaine Seyfarth's jump: 89.0 meters (+4.1/0.0), which gave 15.0 points lead over Hoelzl. Norwegian Line Jahr flew 85.5 meters (+4.5/0.0), and scored 230.9 points, which gave her the current 2nd. Eva Pinkelnig jumped 85.5 meters (+4.1/0.0), and gathered 230.7 points, right ahead her team mate Hoelzl. Nita Englund's jump wasn't enough for current TOP3: worst conditions of the round, and her jump of 84.5 meters (+5.3/0.0), gave her 10th in the official results with 228.6 points in total. Crowd hoped for a good jump Maja Vtic: Slovenian landed at 85.0 meters (+3.9/0.0), which wasn't enough to beat Seyfarth; current 2nd with 231.4 points. Spela Rogelj was the lady to beat the German: Rogelj flew 88.5 meters (+4.3/0.0), and collected 242.7 points. Slovenian kept her lead, as Yuki Ito landed at 84.5 meters (+2.2/0.0), and finished in 6th with a score of 233.6. Sarah Hendrickson prepared for her second jump. Hendrickson pushed herself of the start gate, gained a total speed of 85.6 km/h (53,201 mph), launched herself into the air, and her skies touched the ground at 88.0 meters (+4.1/0.0). She gathered 243.8 points, and took the lead as two jumpers were yet to jump. Sara Takanashi wanted to make a double: Japanese jumper flew 89.5 meters (+3.3/0.0), and took the lead with a score of 244.9. Iraschko-Stolz did what she could, but 87.5 meters (+4.3/0.0) didn't seem to be enough for the win. All the points were added, and it showed 1st position - equally with Takanashi, 244.9 points. Two winners were followed by Hendrickson, with a local hero, Rogelj, who had to satisfy with 4th place, only 2.2 points from the winners! Rogelj made the best jump of the round, 126.3, followed by Hendrickson & Seyfarth's 124.1.
TOP10: 1. Iraschko-Stolz AUT & Takanashi JPN 244.9, 3. Hendrickson USA 243.8, 4. Rogelj SLO 242.7, 5. Seyfarth GER 237.3, 6. Ito JPN 233.6, 7. Vtic SLO 231.4, 8.Jahr NOR 230.9, 9. Pinkelnig AUT 230.7, 10. Englund USA 228.6.

World Cup Standings after Ljubno (12/13) :
1. D. Iraschko-Stolz   AUT   962
2. S. Takanashi   JPN   873
3. C. Vogt   GER   622
4. S. Rogelj   SLO   549
5. Y. Ito   JPN   398
6. E. Pinkelnig   AUT   382
7. M. Vtic   SLO   378
8. J. Seifriedsberger   AUT   352
9. N. Englund   USA   324
10. S. Hendrickson   USA   319

So that's all for Ljubno's weekend. It was quite exciting, although Carina Vogt didn't arrive in Ljubno. Also, it was good piece of news that Overall World Cup wasn't won yet, but 89 points is quite a safe lead for Iraschko-Stolz, whose worst position this season is 8th. Hopefully enjoyed this, and soon you may read Weekend Preview for Oslo's race, so don't forget to take a look at the blog later! Enjoy your day! :)

Links:
Full World Cup Standings after Ljubno (PDF-file)
The official results of Ljubno's second competition (PDF-file)
Results of the first round, Ljubno, 15th of February, 2015 (PDF-file)
Qualifying/trial round results from Ljubno, 15th of February 2015, (PDF-file)