LIBEREC, Czech Republic (AP) — Austria lived up to expectations by winning the ski jumping team event Saturday at the Nordic skiing world championships.
Gregor Schlierenzauer cleared 123 meters in the final jump on the large hill to seal the win for the heavily favored Austrians, who led after the first round. Austria finished with 1,034.3 points, followed by Norway with 1,000.8. Japan took bronze with 981.2 points.
Wolfgang Loitzl, who won the normal hill title ahead of Schlierenzauer this week, led the way for Austria with jumps of 131 and 136 meters.
"The conditions were perfect for us today," Loitzl said. "We deserved to win."
Schlierenzauer jumped 127.5 meters in the first round, with Martin Koch and Thomas Morgenstern also clearing the 120-mark in both rounds.
Anders Jacobsen, who took bronze in the individual large hill event, only managed 117.5 meters in Norway's last jump but it was enough to hold off Japan, which secured its first ski jumping medal of the championships.
Anders Bardal, Tom Hilde and Johan Remen Evensen also jumped for Norway, while the Japanese team was made up of Shohei Tochimoto, Takanobu Okabe, Daiki Ito and Noriaki Kasai.
"We were hoping to fight for a medal," Bardal said. "The Austrians were too tough to beat but we did a very good job."
Poland was fourth, with the Czech Republic in fifth. Finland was a disappointing sixth, after Harri Olli only managed 108.5 meters in the team's last jump.
Schlierenzauer has dominated the large hill events in the World Cup this season, and had been tipped to win a rare double in the individual events. However, he was a disappointing fourth on the large hill Friday, after heavy snow and strong winds forced organizers to cancel the second round. Andreas Kuettel of Switzerland won the event, with no Austrians on the podium.
"Yesterday, it was a disappointment for us all," Schlierenzauer said. "But today, we all had good jumps and worked very hard ... I'm satisfied with Liberec. I won one silver and one gold. I'm satisfied."
