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)

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)

Weekend Analyses of Ladies' Ski Jumping: Chapter 3.2: No major surprises in the first competition in Ljubno on Saturday

Greetings!

After Friday's practice sessions, competitors were getting ready for the competition. Last preparations would take place on the trial round.

Saturday, February 14th, 2015, Ljubno, Slovenia (Trial round and Competition 1):

Trial round [Gate 11, Wind: 0.95 m/s from behind (+6.8 points) to 0.01 m/s towards (-0.1 p)] :

Trial rounds results were quite expected, excluding Slovenian Katja Pozun's very high 5th place, with a jump of 86.0 meters (+1.8/0.0), and 63.8 points. One of the competition's strongest candidates for podium, Sarah Hendrickson flew 84.5 meters (+4.2/0.0), 7th place with a score of 63.2. Friday's TOP3 jumper, Maren Lundby finished 3rd: 85.0 meters (+5.9/0.0), 65.9 points. Line Jahr got biggest compensation points (+6.8/0.0), and she was 10th, after a jump of 81.5 meters, which gave her 59.8 points in total. Maja Vtic was 6th, as Slovenian jumped 84.5 meters (+4.5/0.0), and scored 63.5 points. Another local hero, Spela Rogelj proved that she would be fighting for a podium position: 2nd place, thanks to her flight of 87.0 meters (+3.2/0.0), and a score of 67.2. Sara Takanashi took 4th, as she jumped 86.0 meters (+2.7/0.0) and scored 64.7 points. Daniela Iraschko-Stolz was in her own class, as Austrian flew 90.0 meters (+3.2/0.0), and scored 73.2 points, 6.0 points more than Rogelj. Iraschko-Stolz became even stronger favorite for the win.

First round [Gate 11, Wind: 1.02 m/s from behind (+7.3 p) to 0.54 m/s towards (-3.2 p)] :

Wind got stronger, and less equal for the first round of the competition. Some of the clouds drifted away with the wind. This round was started by Julija Srsen. Slovenian jumped 74.5 meters (+2.8/0.0), scored 88.8 points, and finished 39th in the results. Gyda Enger was the unluckiest with the conditions (+7.3/0.0), but her jump of 78.5 meters, and a score of 105.3 brought Norwegian equal 20th position with Julia Clair. Katja Pozun handled the pressure on the first round:81.5 meters (+5.8/0.0), 111.8 points, 10th place. Japanese jumper, Kaori Iwabuchi was the first one to cross K-point's line: number 21 landed exactly at 85.0 meters (-0.2/0.0), and a score of 104.8 points gave her 23th place after the first round. Coline Mattel didn't impress on the first round: according to the compensation points, French jumper had the best wind conditions of the round: 81.0 meters (-3.2/0.0) was enough for 29th position, and 100.3 points. Chiara Hoelzl flew 86.5 meters (-0.8/0.0), and Austrian took the lead of the competition from Pozun with a score of 114.2. Juliane Seyfarth jumped between Hoelzl and Pozun, with a jump of 84.5 meters (+0.5/0.0), and 113.0 points. Sarah Hendrickson 86.0 meters (-0.2/0.0), but her better points from style comparing to Hoelzl brought Hendrickson first position, due to her score of 115.8. Qualification's winner, Maren Lundby didn't allow Hendrickson to enjoy the lead for long: Norwegian jumped 85.0 meters (+2.5/0.0), and scored 117.0 points.

TOP10 jumpers had trouble to beat Lundby's score. Line Jahe was 12th with a jump of 86.0 meters (-3.2/0.0), Irina Avvakumova 16th, 82.5 meters (+2.3/0.0), and Nita Englund's 83.5 meters (+2.1/0.0) brought 11th position. Maja Vtic sat on the starting position. Vtic gave a reason for Slovenians to enjoy, as one of the local heroes flew 84.5 meters (+6.0/0.0), scored 119.0 points, and took the lead from Lundby. Eva Pinkelnig's 85.5 meters (+1.5/0.0) were enough for current 4th. Jacqueline Seifriedsberger and Yuki Ito disappointed, as Austrian was only 14th, and Ito 13th after the first round. Spela Rogelj wanted to join Vtic, but Rogelj's jump of 84.0 meters (+2.1/0.0) was enough for 8th place in the first round's results. Sara Takanashi stole the lead from Vtic, as Japanese jumper flew 88.0 meters (+5.1/0.0), and scored 123.1 points in total. Daniela Iraschko-Stolz took her position, as Austrian landed at 89.0 meters (+4.0/0.0), and gathered 126.0 points.
TOP10: 1. Iraschko-Stolz AUT 126.0, 2. Takanashi JPN 123.1, 3. Vtic SLO 119.0, 4. Lundby NOR 117.0, 5. Hendrickson USA 115.8, 6. Pinkelnig AUT 114.5, 7. Hoelzl AUT 114.2, 8. Rogelj SLO 114.1, 9. Juliane Seyfarth GER 113.0, 10. Pozun SLO 111.8

Second round [Gate 11, Wind: 1.11 m/s from behind (+7.9 p) to 0.46 m/s towards (-2.7 p)] :

Partly clouded sky was covering the HS 95 hill, as 31 jumpers were ready to participate on the second round. Anna Rupprecht began the round: German's jump ended at 77.0 meters (+5.4/0.0), and she scored 198.9 points in total. Lisa Wiegele had equal points with Rupprecht after the first round, but Austrian jump of 74.0 meters (+5.2/0.0) she finished in unpleasant 31st position, 8.2 points behind Rupprecht, who was 30th in the results. Tara Geraghty-Moats made the biggest climb of the competition, as the jumper from the United States of America flew 85.0 meters (+2.9/0.0), gathered 215.2 points in total, and got from 28th to 17th. Anna Haeffele couldn't use the best conditions of the round, as German jumped 82.0 meters (-2.7/0.0), and her score of 205.8 were enough for the 27th  place in the results. In contrast, Slovenian Ursa Bogataj had the worst conditions: Bogataj landed at 79.5 meters (+7.9/0.0), and dropped from 19th to 22nd. Yuki Ito was the best TOP10 jumper to improve her position after first round's disappointment: she flew 87.5 meters (-0.1/0.0), and took the lead of the competition with a score of 226.8. Ito was leading after 20 jumps, followed by Line Jahr and Nita Englund.

TOP10 was started by Katja Pozun. Slovenian wanted to give the crowd a good jump: Pozun landed at 84.0 meters (+2.8/0.0), scored 225.6 points, and couldn't take the lead from Ito. Since Carina Vogt was absent, Juliane Seyfarth was the best German jumper after the first round. Seyfarth didn't stay in the TOP10, because she jumped only 81.0 meters (+4.9/0.0), and the best German finished 13th in the official results. Spela Rogelj prepared for her jump. After slightly disappointing first round she wanted to improve the atmosphere among Slovenian fans. Rogelj did take the lead with a score of 232.0 points, but her jump of 85.0 meters (+2.9/0.0) wasn't as good as Slovenians wanted. Chiara Hoelzl wasn't able to beat Rogelj, because Austrian landed at 84.5 meters (+4.0/0.0), and took current 5th position. Eva Pinkelnig achieved the second best distance of the competition: 89.0 meters (-0.8/0.0), and a total score of 233.7 points gave her current 1st place. Sarah Hendrickson sat on the starting bench. Hendrickson launched herself into the air, landed at 87.0 meters (+2.3/0.0), gathered 237.1 points, and took the lead of the competition. Maren Lundby wanted to return back to the TOP3, and Norwegian flew for the second time 85.0 meters (+3.3/0.0), but her score of 234.8 wasn't enough to beat Hendrickson. Slovenians hopes for podium remained with Vtic. To take the lead, Vtic had to fly about 85.0 meters. She got the start signal from her coach, gained a total speed of 84.9 km/h (52,766 mph), gained height, but landed at 83.0 meters (+4.9/0.0). Vtic waited for her total score, but unfortunately she had to satisfy with current 4th with 232.9 points. Sara Takanashi had to take lead to keep World Cup hopes alive. Japanese jumper gained a total speed of 85.2 km/h (52.952 mph), and flew the longest jump of the competition: 90.0 meters (+2.9/0.0), and the total score of 248.5 points gave her a massive lead of 11.4 points. Iraschko-Stolz couldn't beat Takanashi: 88.0 meters (+0.9/0.0), and 245.4 points were enough for the second position. These results also meant that Sarah Hendrickson took her first podium in the World Cup since her win in Oslo in March 2013, and her injury from August 2013.
TOP10: 1. Takanashi JPN 248.5, 2. Iraschko-Stolz AUT 245.4, 3. Hendrickson USA 237.1, 4. Lundby NOR 234.8, 5. Pinkelnig AUT 233.7, 6. Vtic SLO 232.9, 7. Rogelj SLO 232.0, 8. Ito JPN 226.8, 9. Pozun SLO 225.8, 10. Jahr NOR 224.9

There were no major changes in the World Cup standings (11/13 competitions) :
1. D. Iraschko-Stolz   AUT   862
2. S. Takanashi   JPN   773
3. C. Vogt   GER   622
4. S. Rogelj   SLO   499
5. Y. Ito   JPN   358
6. E. Pinkelnig   AUT   353
7. M. Vtic   SLO   342
8. J. Seifriedsberger   AUT   334
9. N. Englund   USA   298
10. K. Althaus   GER   288
...
12. S. Hendrickson   USA   259

The competition was quite interesting, and it predicted another very interesting one for Sunday. Check out the blog to find about that as well. Chapter 3.3 coming soon! Thank you for this one!

Links:
Full World Cup standings after the first competition in Ljubno (PDF-file)
Official results of the first competition in Ljubno (PDF-file)
Results of the first round in Ljubno, Saturday, (PDF-file)
Results of the trial round Ljubno, Saturday (PDF-file)

Weekend Analyses of Ladies' Ski Jumping: Chapter 3.1: Warming up in Ljubno on Friday

Greetings!

You may be surprised, why am I doing this only now, but there are some reasons: Due to a couple of important exams, amount of time was restricted. In addition, FIS Ski World Championships are arranged every second year, so I decided to concentrate on the main event of the season. Besides, World Cup Season hasn't concluded, so there wasn't much of a hurry. Carina Vogt's absence didn't motivate me either, but now we'll get it uploaded here. :)

Ljubno's hill is very interesting, since it's K-point is at 85 meters, and Hill Size is 95 meters. Ladies' Hill Record belongs to Sarah Hendrickson, who flew 95.0 meters on 12th of February, 2012. After this introduction, and some excuses, let's take a look at Friday 13th of Febryary, 2015.


Friday, February 13th, 2015, Ljubno, Slovenia (Training rounds + Qualification):

Three jumping rounds were scheduled on Friday in Ljubno. First training round was under partly clouded sky. The wind altered between 0.35 m/s from behind to 0.80 m/s towards. The gate was changed three times: first 33 jumpers started acceleration from starting position 12, number 35, Maren Lundby from gate 11, numbers 36-44 from gate 10, and Iraschko-Stolz started from the gate 9.

Jumps didn't impress at the start. as number 19, Abby Hughes was the first jumper, who got close to the K-point: 83.5 meters (+1.6/0.0), and it gave her 58.6 points in total, 15th place in the results. Katja Pozun with number 22 landed 0.5 meters before the K-point: 84.5 meters (+2.1/0.0), 61.1 points, 11th position. Juliane Seyfarth was a bit lucky with the conditions, but she used them properly: 90.5 meters (-3.7/0.0), 67.3 points gave the German 10th place. Next jumper, Sarah Hendrickson flew 90.0 meters (-2.5/0.0), 67.5 points, and 9th position. Maren Lundby was next: Norwegian started one gate lower, but it didn't stop her: 90.0 meters (-1.6/+4.2), 72.6 points, and 3rd place in the rankings. Maja Vtic and Eva Pinkelnig finished equal sixth in the results: 69.4 points; Vtic flew 87.0 meters (-3.0/+8.4), and Pinkelnig 86.5 meters (-2.0/+8.4). Jacqueline Seifriedsberger collected 69.0 points with a jump of 86.0 meters (-1.4/+8.4), Yuki Ito landed at 87.5 meters (-1.0/+8.4), scoring 72.4 points, and Slovenian Spela Rogelj beat Ito by 0.1 points with 88.0 meters' flight (-1.9/+8.4). Sara Takanashi flew the longest jump of the round, 91.5 meters (-1.8/+8.4), and scored 79.6 points. Daniela Iraschko-Stolz started her jump from a gate lower: 87.0 meters (-0.6/+12.6), giving her 76.0 points, and second position, 3.6 points behind Takanashi. Tara Geraghty-Moats didn't participate on the first training round.

On the second training round, the gate remained stable on the position 10. All 45 jumpers jumped under partly clouded sky, with altering wind between 0.58 m/s from behind to 0.86 m/s towards. Sarah Hendirckson kept jumping well: she flew 85.5 meters (+1.7/0.0), gathered 62.7 points, enough for 7th place in the results. Maren Lundby remained in the TOP3: first training round's 3rd finished now in 2nd: 87.0 meters (+0.9/0.0), with total score of 64.9 points. Slovenian Maja Vtic seemed to enjoy jumping in Slovenia: 86.5 meters (+0.5/0.0), 63.5 points, and solid 5th position. Yuki Ito flew into the TOP3 with a jump of 86.0 meters (+1.8/0.0), and scored 63.8 points. Vtic was joined by her team mate Rogelj, who jumped 85.5 meters (+2.1/0.0), and finished 6th with 63.1 in total. Takanashi topped the results once again with a score of 69.5 points, and the longest jump of the round, 89.0 meters (+1.5/0.0). Iraschko-Stolz landed fourth in the results: 63.7 points, and a jump of 86.0 meters (+1.7/0.0).

Jury raised the gate to position 11 for the qualification round. For the first time in a while, all of the jumpers were forced to jump in average wind of one direction: it was from behind, and altered between 0.82 m/s and 0.31 m/s.Slovenians got five jumpers through the qualification: Eva Logar was best of them with a jump of 81.5 meters (+5.4/0.0), scored 110.9 points and finished impressively in 3rd. Katja Pozun was 6th with 107.8 points, Ursa Bogataj 9th with 105.7 points, and last two positions, which guaranteed the place in the competition, were taken by Julija Srsen, 90.9 points, and Anja Javorsek with 88.3 points. In addition to those jumpers, two prequalified local heroes, Maja Vtic and Spela Rogelj raised the number to 7, which would make the Slovenian team the biggest one in the competition.Vtic didn't show up for the last training round, but Rogelj jumped 86.0 meters (+3.6/0.0), and was second among TOP10 jumpers of the round. Qualification was won by Maren Lundby. Norwegian flew 86.5 meters (+5.1/0.0), scored 1221 points, and took the first position by impressive 7.5 points. Lundby was followed by Hendrickson, who landed at 83.5 meters (+4.6/0.0), and scored 114.6 points in total.

Current TOP10's jumps' distances were between 80.5 meters and 86.0 meters, which was also the most common distance, achieved by three jumpers: Pinkelnig, Rogelj and Iraschko-Stolz, who also scored the highest amount of points among the TOP10: 67.6 points. If we scratch judges' points from Lundby's score, Norwegian got 68.1 points, the highest of all. Rogelj would be 3rd with 65.6 points, followed by Pinkelnig with 65.4 points. Two previous rounds' winner, Takanashi scored 64.1 points with a jump of 85.0 meters (+4.1/0.0). Vtic wasn't the only absent person, because Nita Englund didn't participate.

Based on three rounds of jumps, Sara Takanshi, Daniela Iraschko-Stolz, and Maren Lundby were the three strongest candidates for the win. Local heroes Vtic and Rogelj could mix the order in TOP6. Ito, Hendrickson and Pinkelnig shoudln't be forgotten either.

This was quite an exciting training day to analyse, even though Carina was absent. For today, this is enough. Tomorrow, on 12th of March, the analyses will be completed, so don't forget to return to this blog tomorrow as well. I wish you good night, as it's 10:45 pm here in Finland! :)

Links:
Results of the training rounds (PDF-file), 13th of February, 2015, Ljubno, Slovenia
Results of the qualification (PDF-file), February 13th, 2015, Ljubno, Slovenia

Weekend Analyses of Ladies' Ski Jumping, Championship Edition: Chapter 2: Who takes over HS100 hill, who's the Champion?

Greetings!
Want to find out the TOP3? - Click this link!
I'm very pleased to write this analysis. You must have seen some items of news, how it went, but let's go through the competition piece by piece. I guess it's time to start with the trial round.

Friday, February 20th, 2015, Falun, Sweden: Lugnet HS100 (Trial round + Grand finale)

Trial round (Wind: 0.20 m/s behind (+1.5 p) to 0.98 m/s towards (-6.3 p) Gate 25, G 26 (-3.1 points)):

Last test before the competition was held under cloudy sky. Wind direction and strength altered during the round. Chinese jumper Xueyao Li started, and jumped 76.0 meters (-4.2/0.0), and scored 27.8 points, enough for 39th place. Anna Odine Stroem crossed 80 meters as the first jumper: 82.5 m (-3.9/0.0), 31st with 41.1 points. Elena Runggaldier jumped into TOP20, after 88.0 m's (-6.3/0.0) flight, with 49.7 in total. Tara Geraghty-Moats performed well on the trial round: 89.5 m (-2.9/0.0), 10th, 56.1 points. Jessica Jerome's 88.0 m's jump (+0.8/0.0) was enough for 56.8, and 9th position. Taylor Henrich flew 91.0 m (-0.1/0.0), and came 3rd in the results, 61.9 points. Jury decided to raise the gate for four jumpers: Sarah Hendrickson capitalized on that, as the defending Champion landed at 93.0 m (-2.7/-3.1), got 4th with 60.2 points. Jacqueline Seifriedsberger's jump of 91.0 m (-2.8/0.0) took her to 7th place. Yuki Ito took the lead from Henrich, with 94.0 m's flight (-1.9/0.0), and Japanese jumper scored 66.1 points. Spela Rogelj jumped 90.5 m (-2.0/0.0), and finished 8th. Carina Vogt flew 91.0 m (-2.2/0.0), which gave German 6th position. Sara Takanashi finished one position higher: 91.0 meters (-2.1/0.0), and 59.9 points. Daniela Iraschko-Stolz landed at 92.5 m (-1.4/0.0) and was ranked 2nd.
TOP10: 1. Ito JPN 66.1, 2. Iraschko-Stolz AUT 63.6, 3. Henrich CAN 61.9, 4. Hendrickson USA 60.2, 5. Takanashi JPN 59.9, 6. Vogt GER 59.8, 7. Seifriedsberger AUT 59.2, 8. Rogelj SLO 59.0, 9. Jerome USA 56.8, 10. Geraghty-Moats USA 56.1

Ito seemed to be very strong. Could she perform two more jumps on the same level, or would so far more succeeded competitiors, such as Iraschko-Stolz, Takanashi, Vogt or Hendrickson, handle the pressure better?

First round (Wind: 0.79 m/s behind (+6.1 p) to 0.71 m/s towards (-4.5 p), Gate 25):

Clouds remained above Lugnet's sports center. Wind changed more radically, and skill wasn't the only needed thing to succeed. Xueyao Li sat on the starting bench as the first jumper: 75.5 meters (+2.2/0.0), 78.2 points and 37th place. Barbora Blazkova didn't capitalize on the best wind conditions suggested by the computer: Blazkova's flight ended at 75.5 meters (-4.5/0.0), and Czech Republic's jumper was ranked 39th. Some of the succeeded jumpers from previous World Championships and Olympic Games had issues: Ulrike Graessler, silver medalist from Liberec, was 23rd, Elena Runggaldier, silver medalist from Oslo came 27th, and bronze medalist from Oslo and Sochi, Coline Mattel was only 28th! Julia Clair, Mattel's team mate jumped next, and Clair continued her good jumps from qualification: 89.0 meters (-1.9/0.0) gave French jumper 10th place after the first round. Jumper number 24, Taylor Henrich proved her very good shape, as Canadian flew 90.5 meters (+2.0/0.0), and took the lead of the competition with 115.5 points. Sarah Hendrickson began TOP10 jumpers' group: the defending champion was unlucky, as strongest wind from behind forced her to land at 87.0 meters (+6.1/0.0), and jumper from the United States of America wasn't satisfied with 111.6 points, and 8th place after the first round. Four favorites of the competition seemed to perform well. Yuki Ito flew 89.0 meters (+2.4/0.0), and was 2nd 1.6 points behind Canadian. Carina Vogt had a great chance to improve her 5th place from Val di Fiemme. Vogt began realizing the plan by landing at 91.5 meters (+2.2/0.0), scoring 119.2 in total, and taking the lead. Slight smile appeared on German's face. Sara Takanashi launched herself into the air, and didn't land until 90.0 meters' line (+2.9/0.0), but her poor landing decreased the amount of points, and was ranked 8th after her jump. World Champion from Oslo, Daniela Iraschko-Stolz, showed, why she's the leader in World Cup standings: 92.5 meters (+2.9/0.0), new hill record, and 3.7 points gap to Vogt.

TOP10: 1. Iraschko-Stolz AUT 122.9, 2. Vogt GER 119.2, 3. Henrich CAN 115.5, 4. Ito JPN 113.9, 5. Pinkelnig AUT 113.6, 6. Seifriedsberger AUT 112.9, 7. Rogelj SLO, 111.9, 8. Hendrickson USA 111.6, 9. Takanashi JPN 111.4, 10. Clair FRA 108.6.

Takanashi's total score was a bit of a disappointment. Other three main favorites came across more calm, and Henrich's third position would bring more interest into the final jumps.

Grand Finale, Second Round (Wind: 0.38 m/s behind to 0.45 m/s towards, Gate 26):

Obviously clouds wanted to watch this exciting event until the end. Michaela Dolezelova got the honor to start the round: Czech's 83.0 meters (+1.0/0.0) were enough to overtake Elena Runggaldier, and it helped Dolezelova to finish 29th. Coline Mattel was very unhappy with her result: so far her worst position in World Championships was 5th, but this event brought French jumper 27th place. Ladies' Ski Jumping's performance level has raised during past couple of years, as the highest climb of the round was only five spots: Jessica Jerome from the United States flew 90.5 meters (+0.6/0.0), gathered 219.4 points, and got from 14th to 9th. Jerome was also leading after 20/30 jumpers, second was Irina Avvakumova from Russia, and third Nita Englund, Jerome's team member.

TOP10 was begun with French coach's last hope for a good result: flag was wawed, and so began Julia Clair's performance. For her, her coach's and French fans, it ended sadly: 83.5 meters (-0.8/0.0), 205.3 points in total, and 21st place in the official results. Sara Takanashi had a lot to improve on the second round. Determined Japanese jumper launched herself into the air, and her skies touched the ground at 93.0 meters (0.1/0.0), which gave her a total score of 228.3, lead of the competition, and new hill record. Sarah Hendrickson's goal was medal, but it the task wasn't after first rounds decent jump: the defending Champion fought herself at 91.0 meters (-0.7/0.0), but she couldn't beat Takanashi, and took 2nd position. Spela Rogelj didn't cross 90.0 meters, as Slovenian flew 88.5 meters (-1.0/0.0), and her score of 217.9 points gave her 10th position in the official results. Val di Fiemme's bronze medalist, Jacqueline Seifriedsberger couldn't beat Takanashi nor Hendrickson. Austrian jumped 90.5 meters (-0.8/0.0), gave her current 3rd with 225.6 points. Eva Pinkelnig dropped from 5th to 8th, as she flew 89.5 meters (-0.3/0.0). Yuki Ito sat on the starting bench to wait for the flag to go down: Ito got the signal, gained her speed, and her flight didn't end until 93.0 meters (+0.2/0.0). Japanese jumper gathered 235.1 points, took the lead from Takanashi, and waited for three remaining jumps. Henrich had a chance to be the best North American jumper. Canadian jumped very well through the whole day: Taylor's last jump of the day went to 91.0 meters, but her unbalanced landing didn't give her much hope for high total score. 15.5, 15.5, 16.0, 16.0 and 16.0, gave her 47.5 points from style, and Canadian took 3rd place, but not in the official results. Carina Vogt moved herself to the starting position, pushed herself of the gate, gained top speed of 86.3 km/h (53,636 mph), spread her skies into the V-position, and German's skies touched the ground at 92.0 meters (+1.2/0.0). Vogt seemed pleased, and her beautiful landing would surely give her the lead: judges disagreed, and gave her only 5 x 17.5, 52.5 in total, and Carina's lead points were 236.9. Only one jumper was remaining. It seemed like Iraschko-Stolz got a pretty simple task to do: 89.5 meters would take Austrian to the second World Championship title. Iraschko-Stolz gained her speed, launched herself in the air, but the flight didn't look so good. She made a quick landing, before the green line, at 89.0 meters. I already stood up and raised my hands in the air as a sign of Vogt's gold medal. Iraschko-Stolz waited for her total score and finishing position: 3rd place, 233.8 points, and she became the first woman ever to get two individual medals of World Championships in Ladies' Ski Jumping. Carina Vogt couldn't believe the turn of events, which led her to be the first female jumper to win both Winter Olympic Games and World Championship's gold medal. German got multiple hugs as a congratulation! YES, YES, YES!!! JUST DET, PÅ DET SÄTTET = EXACTLY, THAT'S THE WAY!!!

TOP10:
1. Carina Vogt  GER   91.5 meters + 92.0 meters, 236.9 points
2. Yuki Ito  JPN   89.0 m + 93.0 m, 235.1 p
3. Daniela Iraschko-Stolz  AUT   92.5 m + 89.0 m, 233.8 p
4. Sara Takanashi  JPN   90.0 m + 93.0 m, 228.3 p
5. Taylor Henrich  CAN   90.5 m + 91.0 m, 227.9 p
6. Sarah Hendrickson  USA   87.0 m + 91.0 m, 226.4 p
7. Jacqueline Seifriedsberger  AUT   89.0 m + 90.5 m, 225.6 p
8. Eva Pinkelnig  AUT   89.0 m + 89.5 m, 223.8 p
9. Jessica Jerome  USA   86.5 m + 90.5 m, 219.4 p
10. Spela Rogelj  SLO   87.0 m + 88.5 m, 217.9 p

It was the most exciting ladies' ski jumping competition I've ever seen. Of course, World Championship title was at stake, and Carina Vogt was among the favourites, but overall competition was enjoyable to watch: 22 jumpers collected more than 200 points in total. There'll definetly more material from the competition on YouTube, so check the channel.

All times medal standings in FIS Ski World Championships, Ladies' Ski Jumping:
1. the United States of America   2  -  -
2. Germany   1  1  -
3. Austria   1  -  2
4. Japan   -  2  -
5. Italy   -  1  -
6. Norway  -  -  1
6. France  -  -  1

From previous medalists, Anette Sagen from Norway, and Lindsay Van from the United States, didn't even qualify into their World Ski Championships teams. The United States kept their lead, Germany got closer, and Austria has achieved 3 medals in 4 events.

World Championships aren't over yet for some of the ladies' Mixed team event is held 22nd of February, 2015. TOP7 jumpers, excluding Henrich and Hendrickson, are the biggest candidates to take the medals. Let's hope for another gold for Carina! Apologies for a bit late posting time, at it's more than 24 hours after the competition, but I was busy with recording YouTube videos, and watching other events from Falun. Thank you very much, and enjoy Carina Vogt's success: there'll be plenty more of it!!! :) Njut av den sista tävlingen!!!

Links:
Carina Vogt's World Champion's interview + TOP3 flower ceremony, German Anthem! YouTube!!!
Official results (PDF-file), World Ski Championships, 2015, Falun, Ladies' Ski Jumping
Results of the 1st round (PDF-file), World Ski Championships, 2015, Falun, Ladies' Ski Jumping
Trial round's results (PDF-file), World Ski Championships, 2015, Falun, Ladies' Ski Jumping