A rainy day greeted the young Nordic combined hopefuls in Planica as they competed for the second and third sets of medals at the 47th FIS Junior World Championships in Nordic skiing. The female competitors started the trial with the ski jumping segment, where Norwegian Ingrid Laate excelled with a jump of 90.5 meters. However, she only held a 2-second lead over the local favorite, Tia Malovrh, who jumped half a meter less. Third place went to Germany's Ronja Loh with a jump of 92 meters and a 10-second lag. Manca Kobentar landed in sixth place with an 84.5-meter jump and a 58-second gap, while Brina Sušnik, with a jump of 73.5 meters, lagged behind by 2:14 minutes in 28th place. Unfortunately, due to illness, youth Olympic silver medalist Teja Pavec had already ended her participation in the championship.
Tia Malovrh Photo: Borut Živulović/BOBO
Following the female competitors, it was the male Nordic combined athletes' turn in the ski jumping segment. Leading the pack was Austria's Paul Walcher with a jump of 92.5 meters, enjoying a 42-second advantage over his compatriot Andreas Gfrerer, who landed at 92 meters. Norwegian Jens Dahlseide Kvamme took third place with an 88-meter jump and a 47-second gap. The best local performer was Anže Brecl in 22nd place, trailing by 1:41 minutes with an 85.5-meter jump. Lovro Percl Seručnik followed in 31st place with a jump one meter shorter, lagging by 2:20 minutes. Aljaž Janhar landed in 35th place with a jump of 78.5 meters and a 2:30-minute lag, while Urban Zajec finished 37th with an 80-meter jump and a 2:41-minute lag behind the leading Austrian.
Photo: Borut Živulović/BOBO
The female competitors also started with the second part of the competition. Tia Malovrh performed excellently in the first of two laps, covering a distance of 2.5 km, leading the pack by about half a minute. However, she later withdrew from the race due to starting a bit too quickly, which unfortunately cost her the chance at a gold medal in today's event. Finnish athlete Minja Korhonen, who was fourth after the ski jumping segment, graciously accepted the gift from our competitor, ultimately defeating American Alexa Brabec, who finished tenth after the ski jumps, by 1.5 seconds. The bronze medal, trailing by 11 seconds, was won by Germany's Ronja Loh. The best Slovenian performer was Manca Kobentar in 21st place with a gap of 2:17 minutes, while Brina Sušnik finished in 28th place, trailing by just under four minutes.
Photo: Borut Živulović/BOBO
In the cross-country skiing portion of the Nordic combined competition, Paul Walcher completed the 10 km course the fastest. The Austrian claimed the title with a lead of 16.8 seconds over the German Tristan Sommerfeld, who finished tenth after the ski jumping segment. The bronze went to Norwegian Jens Dahlseide Kvamme, trailing by 19.5 seconds. The best Slovenian performer was Zajec, finishing in 31st place with a gap of just over four and a half minutes. Lovro Percl Seručnik took the 35th spot, closely followed by Anže Brecl. Aljaž Janhar finished in 38th place, trailing the winner by nearly six minutes.
Photo: Borut Živulović/BOBO
Post-match statements:
Tia Malovrh: "I started too quickly. Because I was nervous, I lost sight of the monitor. Right after the start, I knew I was too fast, but I didn't know I could go back to the start and begin with a few seconds' delay."
Urban Zajec: "I'm satisfied with the entire race. I started well, and towards the end, I began to increase the pace. I did run out of steam in the final sprint, but overall, it was a good race. The significant difference was made during the ski jumping part, and then I couldn't make up for it."
Igor Jelen, slovenian head coach: "Today, the desire for success carried us away a bit. Tia was impatient at the start, started too quickly, and was subsequently disqualified. The boys competed well. Urban had a longer interruption on the ski jump, and then water accumulated on the track, resulting in poor speed. Lovro and Anže are still young competitors, but they competed very well today. The domestic junior championship was an additional motivation for them. Aljaž also deserves praise. These three boys are several years younger than the oldest in the category, so it was more about gaining experience for them here."
