Norway strike gold in World Cup opener in Wisla
BySportsbeat
Published 19/11/2017 at 13:13 GMT
A smiling Robert Johansson admitted there was no better way to start the season than atop a podium as Norway powered to World Cup victory in Poland.
Eurosport
Image credit: Eurosport
The Norwegian quartet of Johansson, Daniel-Andre Tande, Johann Andre Forfang and Anders Fannamel scored 1023.8 from their efforts to take team ski jumping gold on the Wisla hills on Saturday.
Fans at the Adam Malysz Stadium were delighted to see the Polish skiers finish joint second with Austria on home slopes, while Germany came in fourth.
With little to choose between the teams after the opening rounds, Johansson put their gold medal down to a strong showing throughout in the second, spearheaded by Forfang's mighty leap of 129.5m.
"We had a tough start in the first round, in the second round all the boys showed really good jumps," said Johansson.
"For me, it was exciting to be the last Norwegian jumper in a team competition. It was a very good day and it's amazing to start the season with a win."
Poland, featuring double Olympic champion Kamil Stoch, and Austria both scored 1006.5, while Stefan Kraft's German outfit were fourth after securing 990 overall.
Reflecting on his side's performance on home hills, Stoch said: "I was very nervous before the competition but when I was jumping I had a good feeling.
"It was a very emotional competition for us, but also for the fans. It's very nice to be on the podium at the beginning of the season."
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