January 1, 2008 (Oberstdorf, Germany) – World Cup leader Thomas Morgenstern of Austria, who saw his record six-victory string cut in the final World Cup before Christmas, picked up the beat Sunday night. He had the longest jump on each round to win the first ski jumping meet of the 56th Four Hill Springertournee by nearly 20 points.

Morgenstern, who triggered “Morgi Mania” with his historic streak to open the season, jumped 136.5 and 141.5 metres, good for 295.9 points. Temamate Gregor Schlierenzauer finished second with 280.7 points following jumps of 136 and 130.5 metres. It’s the third time this winter they’ve finished 1-2 in a World Cup contest.

Although he had the longest jump of the first round, Morgenstern was docked some points for his style and was third in the round. But he sealed the win with his blockbuster final jump, which was 4.5 metres longer than the next longest, which came from third-place finisher Janne Ahonen of Finland. The traditional crowd of 20,000-plus watched the action in 32-degree (0 C.) weather.

“That was the perfect jump, the best that I’ve had this season so far – just great,” the jubilant winner said following the win. “I was pushed up, not only underneath thetops of my skis but over their whole length and my balance was really good, unbelievable!”

He shrugged off any question about sweeping the four jumping meets, which include two in Germany and two in Austria. He called the meet Tuesday in Garmisch-Partenkirchen “the most important thing…

“After that, we’ll see.”

Full results.