At the Ski Jumping World Championships in Bad Mitterndorf, Austria, Polish ski jumpers have made a striking start. Piotr Żyła is currently in sixth place after the first day, with his teammate Aleksander Zniszczoł not far behind in ninth. Slovenian Timi Zajc leads the competition at the halfway point, closely followed by Austrian Stefan Kraft.
The selection made by Thomas Thurnbichler, the Austrian coach of the Polish team, proved to be a significant one. Choosing to field Dawid Kubacki, Paweł Wąsek, Aleksander Zniszczoł, and Piotr Żyła, he left out three-time Olympic champion Kamil Stoch, a decision he attributed to recent training performances.
In the first series, the Polish jumpers showed impressive form. Żyła and Zniszczoł were particularly strong, securing places within the top ten. Kubacki and Wąsek also made it into the top thirty, with 22nd and 26th positions respectively.
The second series saw varied performances from the team. While Kubacki delivered a respectable jump of 203 meters, Wąsek struggled and fell back significantly, recording a distance of only 147 meters. Zniszczoł, on the other hand, excelled with a jump of 215.5 meters. However, it was Piotr Żyła who stole the show, landing an impressive 220.5 meters – the best distance of the second series when only five jumpers remained at the top.
At the end of the first day at Kulm, Żyła stands at 6th and Zniszczoł at 9th place, with Timi Zajc holding the top spot.
The World Championships continue with the third and fourth series scheduled for Saturday at 2 PM, concluding the individual competition. The team event is set for Sunday, also starting at 2 PM, promising an exciting weekend for ski jumping enthusiasts.