January 1, 2009 (Oberstdorf, Ger) – The 57th Jack Wolfskin Four-Hills-Tournament began in outstanding conditions in Oberstdorf (Ger) where Simon Ammann (Sui) underscored his ambitions to win the Tournament victory. Besides being a World and Olympic champion, his expressed goal is to become one of the group of only seven jumpers so far that have collected all of these titles – the so-called ‘Magic Seven’. In the first of the four Tournament competitions, Ammann took his fifth season victory by a margin of just 1.2 points over the eternal runner up Wolfgang Loitzl (Aut).

Challenger Gregor Schlierenzauer (Aut), who was 4th in Oberstdorf just 6.3 points behind, shows no sign of letting Ammann take the title easily. The duel will continue at the traditional New Year’s Day Ski Jumping in Garmisch-Partenkirchen (Ger) where the two will face each other in the knock-out match – with Schlierenzauer posting the best jump of the qualification and Ammann choosing to rely on his pre-qualification as the World Cup leader, the two will make up the last pairing.

The last two competitions in the Four-Hills-Tournament will take place in the New Year in Austria, with Innsbruck on 4th and Bischofshofen on January 6, 2009. For more information and up-to-date coverage, visit www.fisskijumpingworldcup.com

Exciting Finish to World Cup Year in Nordic Combined

The fifth event of the DKB FIS Nordic Combined World Cup in Oberhof (Ger) brought great sport and close decisions. On Saturday, December 27, Magnus Moan (Nor) won a nail-biting sprint finish just 0.3 seconds in front of Todd Lodwick (USA) and 0.4 seconds ahead of Anssi Koivuranta (Fin). One day later, Koivuranta achieved his third season World Cup victory, which was also his third career victory, while Lodwick, who was the big surprise at the competition, placed second again. Koivuranta remains solidly on top of the overall World Cup ranking as Moan trails by 147 points.

In the middle of the action, however, was the man who did not win any races in Oberhof. Todd Lodwick started his comeback from retirement at the beginning of May, allegedly with the hardest training of his life. He won three out of four Continental Cups before joining the World Cup. In Germany, he held onto Moan’s speed in the first race losing by a blink of the eye, and on Sunday again, he executed a tactically perfect cross-country race, losing it just on the last kilometer. On the jumping hill, has been impressive as well.