Four Hills Tournament: Prevc dominates — Wellinger on the rise

Domen Prevc again showed why he is the man to beat at this season's Four Hills Tournament, winning the Bischofshofen qualification with a 140.0 m jump. The Slovenian leader—already victorious in Oberstdorf and Garmisch‑Partenkirchen and second in Innsbruck—seems all but certain to claim the Tournee crown unless weather or a disqualification intervenes.

Prevc took top spot in Bischofshofen, ahead of Austria’s Stephan Embacher, who finished second, and Jan Hörl in third. With strong marks across the series, Prevc goes into the final competition holding a huge advantage — the report converts his lead to an equivalent of about 22 metres over Hörl.

The German team experienced a mixed day in front of some 4,250 spectators. Philipp Raimund was the best German in qualifying in sixth place. Felix Hoffmann, fifth in the overall standings and still with podium chances, only managed eleventh in qualifying.

A positive surprise for the hosts was Andreas Wellinger. He placed 23rd in qualifying—just ahead of Pius Paschke (25th)—and with that result he will enter tomorrow’s first round as the better‑placed German in his head‑to‑head pairing and could wear a red bib if form holds. Wellinger said after his jump on ARD that he was satisfied: he felt he’d recovered from a disappointing error in Innsbruck and delivered three solid jumps in qualification, giving him confidence for the contest and a real shot at reaching the second round.

Karl Geiger also made it into the top 50, qualifying 44th and securing a place in the competition’s first round.

Prevc now stands on the brink of taking the famous Golden Eagle: only once in Four Hills history has a competitor lost such a large lead — in 1971/72 Yukio Kasaya left after winning the first three hills to prepare for the home Olympics in Sapporo. For Prevc, however, everything points toward coronation in Bischofshofen unless something exceptional happens.

(This report includes material from the Sports Information Service (SID).)