BISCHOFSHOFEN, Austria (AP) — Gregor Schlierenzauer won his second straight Four Hills ski jumping title Sunday, extending Austria's unbeaten run in the prestigious competition to five years.
Schlierenzauer, who led the standings after the first three events, beat main challenger Anders Jacobsen of Norway to win the final stop for his 45th career World Cup victory. "Under extreme pressure, the real big diamonds start to shine," said Schlierenzauer, who finished 13.0 points ahead of Jacobsen. "It's incredible, it will take some time to let it all sink in."
Tom Hilde of Norway finished third in the tour, 71.0 points behind Schlierenzauer. In the final event, Schlierenzauer had jumps of 132.0 and 137.5 meters for a total of 272.7 points. Jacobsen earned 270.4 points to take second. The Norwegian put pressure on Schlierenzauer's final jump with a 139.0-meter effort. The Austrian landed 1.5 meters short of that mark but was awarded more points by the jury.
Jacobsen said he believed his chances were already gone going into the final round. "I didn't really think anymore that I could beat him," Jacobsen said. "Gregor has done such a great job in the last two events."
Schlierenzauer's Austrian teammate, Stefan Kraft, took third with 261.3 points for his first podium finish. Schlierenzauer leads the World Cup standings with 808 points, followed by Severin Freund with 556. The German was beaten in the first round Sunday and failed to score points.
Anders Bardal of Norway is third with 450 points. The next World Cup event is in Wisla, Poland on Wednesday.
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