Ammann jumps to sixth place

Swiss ski jumper Simon Ammann after the final leg of the Four Hill competition in Bischofshofen Keystone

After a disappointing 15th place in the fourth leg of the Four Hill competition in Bischofshofen, Simon Ammann has achieved sixth place in the overall ski jumping rankings.

In sixth place, the Swiss ski jumper has achieved the best Swiss result in the competition for 10 years.

The German world number one jumper, Sven Hannawald, won the competition with 282.9 points and became the first athlete in history to come first in all four legs of the event.

Finland’s Matti Hautamaeki came second in Bischofshofen and finished second overall, and the Austrian Martin Hoellwarth came third.

Ammann, who finished fifth and third in the first two legs of the competition, jumped 126.5 metres in the first round – a result he was proud of.

“I am very satisfied with my first jump. I think it was the best jump of the whole competition,” he said after the event.

However, the 20-year-old from Toggenburg was not pleased with his performance in the second round, when he achieved a mere 114 metres.

He explained this rather unsatisfactory jump with the fact that he jumped too late, something the Paul-Ausserleitner jump in Bischofshofen showed no mercy.

Coach very pleased

Coach Berni Schödler was very pleased with Ammann’s results. “I think Simon achieved good results. The fact that he managed to get through all four legs like he did, gives me hope for the Olympic Games. Simon has shown that he is resistant to stress,” he said.

With his third, fifth, eleventh and fifteenth places in the Four Hill competition, Ammann has achieved something no Swiss ski jumper had achieved in 10 years.

In 1992, Stefan Zünd managed to come seventh in the overall ranking, after finishing in third place in Oberstdorf and Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

swissinfo with agencies