July 29, 2012 (Wisla, Poland) – Who is in shape this year? Ski Jumping fans were eager to find out as the Grand Prix summer competitions began on July 20th in Wisla (POL). The organizers of the event in Wisla could be sure that something like the failure of the floodlights on Friday will not happen again. The competition on Friday was held under daylight. The 5,000 fans at the Adam-Malysz-Hill saw a fair competition. Slight tailwind made it a bit difficult for some of the jumpers, but that’s why there are wind compensations points.

 

Of course the fans were very happy to see that Kot could defend the lead he had after the first round and won with a total of 252.2 points ahead of Simon Ammann of Switzerland, who reached a total of 245.3 points. And yet another veteran stood on the podium: Austria’s Wolfgang Loitzl with his 243.7 points.

“My first jump today was very good, the second one was not that good but it was enough. I didn’t think about the result, I just focused on my jumps”, the local hero told after his success.

After his first appearance in Wisla, Simon Ammann was especially happy with the audience. “The atmosphere at the hill was great. The fans can get close to the jumpers and that’s good.” And also for Wolfgang Loitzl it was a good day. “Yesterday we were not satisfied with our fourth place, but today I can say that I’m satisfied. I like the new rules and I hope they will help me on my way to the top.” – read more here.

In addition to participating in high-level competitions as preparation for the World Cup season that begins in November, this series will again be a test for the new, closer fitting ski jumping suits. Since the international summer Ski Jumping season already started with Continental Cup events, teams can now build on their experiences and continue to improve their performances.

After Wisla, the men’s tour will pause for a few weeks until the mixed team event together with the ladies’ takes place on 14th August 2012 in Courchevel (FRA). A total of 12 competitions – including competitions in Hakuba (JPN) and Almaty (KAZ) are on the summer schedule until the series concludes on 3rd October in Klingenthal (GER).

On the ladies’s side, the summer Grand Prix series will launch together when it joins with the men in Courchevel and Hinterzarten (GER).

Full results from Wisla HERE.

For more information on FIS Ski Jumping please visit HERE.