Norway’s Kenneth Gangnes claimed a slim overnight lead yesterday at the ski-flying world championships even though Slovenian top favourite Peter Prevc soared a hill record.
Gangnes, a fourth-place finisher at the recent Four Hills Tournament, had 236 and 216 metres on the huge Kulm flying hill for a total 419.4 points.
Prevc bettered the hill record to an astonishing 243.5m in the first round but then only managed 213.5m to trail Gangnes by 1.3 points into the final two rounds Saturday. Austria’s Stefan Kraft is third on 415.6.
The 43-year-old Japanese veteran Noriaki Kasai, a ski-flying world champion from 1992, was the first to better the hill record to then 240.5m and is fifth overall.
German title holder Severin Freund is seventh and all but out of contention, almost 50 points behind Gangnes.
“That’s ski-flying. The gap is huge. But I will attack tomorrow and hope to land a bit further down,” said Freund, whose best jump was 209.5m.
The Bad Mitterdorf competition was overshadowed by the news from doctors in Graz Friday that young Austrian Lukas Mueller is partially paraplegic after a crash on Wednesday when the fore-jumpers for the worlds were training on the Kulm hill.
Doctors said it was too early to predict whether Mueller will be able to use his legs again.
Mueller, 23, crashed on his back on the massive Kulm flying hill. He underwent surgery in a hospital in Graz where doctors revealed the nature of his injuries yesterday.
Doctor Franz-Josef Seifert said Mueller “can at the moment not move his legs” and is “partially paraplegic.” He said the successful operation was a pre-condition that he may be able to walk again but that this will be “a question of months or even a year”.
The 2009 junior world champion Mueller lost control of his left ski during the practice jump and crashed heavily to the ground at around 120 metres on the big hill allowing jumps of up to 240m. It appeared that his left ski-boot opened during the jump which prompted the accident. It is not clear whether the boot buckle broke or was not properly attached.
Mueller is the second ski-jumper within a year to suffer grave injuries.
American Nick Fairall has been confined to a wheelchair since crashing at the 2015 Four Hills event in Bischofshofen.

Jansrud edges Svindal for combined event victory
Wengen, Switzerland: Kjetil Jansrud came from behind with a courageous slalom run to pip fellow Norwegian Aksel Lund Svindal for victory in an alpine skiing World Cup combined event yesterday.
Jansrud was nine tenth off Svindal’s pace in third place after the morning downhill run on the lower part of the famed Lauberhorn course but rebounded in the slalom for his second season victory and 12th overall in 2 minutes 37.61 seconds.
Speed event specialist Svindal missed a sixth season success by four hundredth of a second on 2:37.65, and France’s Adrien Theaux was third on the podium in 2:37.74.
“I am surprised,” Jansrud said. “I don’t train slalom a lot. You must have faith at the start and then attack.”
Svindal halved the deficit on overall World Cup leader Marcel Hirscher of Austria to 85 points with 716 points, and Hirscher on 801. Norway’s Henrik Kristoffersen is a distant third with 571. Svindal can make up further ground in today’s Wengen downhill, but will not be competing in tomorrow’s slalom which will be the only race for Hirscher and Kristoffersen at the Swiss venue.

Nordic combined finale on March 5 and 6 in Schonach
Berlin: The Nordic combined skiing World Cup season has been extended by a week, with the German venue of Schonach hosting the finals on March 5 and 6, the German ski federation said yesterday. The Schonach events were scheduled for January 9 and 10 but cancelled owing to lack of snow. The season was originally to end on February 28 in Val di Fiemme, Italy.
Nordic combined skiers have not had a competition since December 20 as the events in Klingenthal January 2 and 3 were scrapped and Schonach also not took place last weekend. In addition, the next events in France have been postponed by a week until January 23 and 24.