Austrians dominate first Four Hills event

Stefan Kraft has led a one-two Austrian finish at the first event of this year's Four Hills tournament, ending just ahead of his countryman Michael Hayböck in snowy Oberstdorf on Monday evening.

The 21-year-old from Schwarzach im Pongau started strongly with a first jump of 136.5 meters in the first round. Despite heavy snow falls, he was then able to hold his nerve in the second round jumping a solid 129 meters.

"I'm so happy with the result," Kraft told broadcaster Eurosport after the event.

Top qualifier Peter Prevc from Slovenia landed in third place with 283.9 points, behind the two Austrians. Hayböck's strong performance means that he moves to the top of the overall ski jumping standings for this winter.

The hosts, meanwhile, were disappointing at home, with all German jumpers struggling on the ramp. Severin Freund was Germany's best performer, coming in 13th overall.

"With a position like that, I wouldn't be so annoyed if there were some Germans placed in front of me," said Freund to Eurosport. "It was a bad competition for me. Now we have to go away and analyze what went wrong."

The event was initially planned to take place on Sunday, but was delayed one day due to dangerous winds on the weekend. The second Four Hills event will take place in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Qualification takes place on December 31, with the main jump set for January 1.

al/asz (SID, dpa)