At 32, Ukraine’s Vitalii Kalinichenko scores first World Cup points and outperforms Poles in Ruka

Saturday’s World Cup ski jumping event in Ruka produced several unusual outcomes. Bulgaria’s Vladimir Zografski finished fourth and France’s Valentin Foubert took fifth, but one of the day’s most notable stories was Ukraine’s Vitalii Kalinichenko, who claimed the first World Cup points of his senior career at the age of 32 by finishing 30th.

Challenging weather once again disrupted the program in Ruka. After Friday’s competition was canceled, Saturday’s final round was also called off due to shifting winds, which meant the first-round standings became the official results.

Poland’s team struggled in the changing wind. Kacper Tomasiak was the lone Polish athlete to score points. Kamil Stoch, Aleksander Zniszczoł, and Paweł Wąsek finished outside the top 30, while Dawid Kubacki and Piotr Żyła failed to advance from qualification.

A statistics account, “Ski jumping on charts and numbers,” noted that by scoring for the first time at 32, Kalinichenko ranks third among the oldest jumpers to earn their first World Cup points. Qualification for Sunday’s second competition in Ruka is scheduled for 09:00, with the event set to begin at 14:50.