Piotr Zyla (top) of Poland celebrates after winning the first place of the men's Ski Jumping Normal Hill event at the 43rd FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Planica, Slovenia, Feb. 25, 2023. (Photo by Zeljko Stevanic/Xinhua)
WARSAW, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Poland's Piotr Zyla defended his ski jumping title at the 2023 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Planica, Slovenia on Saturday.
The Pole was only 13th after the first jump of 97.5 meters on the normal hill, but then broke a hill record with a result of 105m to make a sensational jump to the top with a total points of 261.8.
Andreas Wellinger from Germany finished second with 259.2 points, while his compatriot Karl Geiger took bronze.
Austrian Stefan Kraft, who was the leader of the competition after his first round jump of 102.5m, finished fourth.
Zyla defended the title he won in Oberstdorf, Germany in 2021, becoming the first athlete to win the title back-to-back since Adam Malysz's triumph in 2001 and 2003. The 36-year-old also became the oldest individual world champion in ski jumping.
"It's hard to explain how happy I feel right now," Zyla said. "I'm close to bursting into tears as I'm so moved. I don't know what happened."
"After the first round, I thought the game was over. I can't believe that I won a gold medal. It was really hard to win the title two years ago, but here in Planica, I worked even harder." ■
Piotr Zyla of Poland competes during the men's Ski Jumping Normal Hill at the 43rd FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Planica, Slovenia, Feb. 25, 2023. (Photo by Zeljko Stevanic/Xinhua)
Andreas Wellinger of Germany competes during the men's Ski Jumping Normal Hill at the 43rd FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Planica, Slovenia, Feb. 25, 2023. (Photo by Zeljko Stevanic/Xinhua)
Karl Geiger of Germany competes during the men's Ski Jumping Normal Hill at the 43rd FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Planica, Slovenia, Feb. 25, 2023. (Photo by Zeljko Stevanic/Xinhua)
First-placed Piotr Zyla (C) of Poland celebrates with second-placed Andreas Wellinger (L) of Germany and third-placed Karl Geiger of Germany during the awarding ceremony of the men's Ski Jumping Normal Hill event at the 43rd FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Planica, Slovenia, Feb. 25, 2023. (Photo by Zeljko Stevanic/Xinhua)
