Piotr Żyła struggles in Oberstdorf training ahead of Four Hills start

A worrying sign for Poland before Oberstdorf qualifications: in both ski jumping training rounds none of the Poles finished inside the top 20. The biggest concern was Piotr Żyła, who looked the weakest among the Polish team.

Five Poles traveled to Germany for the Four Hills Tournament opener: Kamil Stoch—competing in his final season—along with Maciej Kot, Paweł Wąsek, Piotr Żyła and Kacper Tomasiak. Notably absent was Dawid Kubacki, who was assigned to Continental Cup starts in Engelberg.

In the first training round, Maciej Kot jumped 117 m and Paweł Wąsek 117.5 m (with slightly better conditions), while Kamil Stoch managed 126 m. Kacper Tomasiak recorded 118.5 m. Żyła struggled badly, reaching only 101 m. Germany’s Felix Hoffmann led the session.

Polish results – Training 1: - 21) Kamil Stoch — 126 m - 25) Kacper Tomasiak — 118.5 m - 40) Maciej Kot — 117 m - 43) Paweł Wąsek — 117.5 m - 61) Piotr Żyła — 101 m

In the second training round there were improvements from Kot (125 m) and Wąsek (124.5 m). Żyła added 18 m to his first effort (119 m), but even that left him outside the top 50, an alarming sign for qualification. Stoch posted 126.5 m, and Tomasiak 121 m; after gate and wind adjustments Tomasiak ranked as the top Pole in the round. Austria’s Jan Hoerl topped the second session.

Polish results – Training 2: - 28) Kacper Tomasiak — 121 m - 31) Kamil Stoch — 126.5 m - 35) Maciej Kot — 125 m - 42) Paweł Wąsek — 124.5 m - 52) Piotr Żyła — 119 m

Qualifications for Monday’s competition in Oberstdorf were scheduled to start at 16:30.