The FIS Ski Jumping World Cup in Zakopane event took place from 15 to 17 January 1999 as part of the 1998/1999 World Cup season. Competitions were held on the Wielka Krokiew ski jump, featuring two individual events on the large hill. This marked the fifth time that athletes competed for points in the overall World Cup classification in Zakopane.
In the first competition on the Wielka Krokiew, Stefan Horngacher claimed victory, while Janne Ahonen emerged as the best competitor in the second event.
Janne Ahonen finished in second place in the first competition, and Kazuyoshi Funaki took second in the second competition. Tommy Ingebrigtsen secured third place in the first event, while Stefan Horngacher finished third in the second.
This was the third time in history that two individual competitions on the large hill were held in Zakopane as part of the World Cup, following similar events in 1996 and 1998. In 1980, one competition was organized on the normal hill and one on the large hill, while in 1990, only one event was held on the large hill.
A total of 68 competitors from 14 national teams participated in the event.[1][2] The oldest participant was Japan's Masahiko Harada, aged 30 years and 251 days, while the youngest was Polish athlete Bartłomiej Nikiel [pl], who was 15 years and 191 days old.[a]
Before the competitions
Martin Schmitt, the runner-up in the overall World Cup standings before the competitions in ZakopaneNoriaki Kasai, the fourth-ranked competitor in the overall World Cup standings before the competitions in Zakopane
Before the World Cup ski jumping competitions in Zakopane, 14 individual events had already taken place in the series.[3] The leader of the overall World Cup standings was Janne Ahonen. The Finnish representative had amassed 1.043 points, leading second-place Martin Schmitt by 165 points. In third place was Kazuyoshi Funaki with 761 points. In the Nations Cup standings, the Japanese team led ahead of Germany and Austria.[4]
In the events held before the Zakopane competitions, the following athletes won: six times – Martin Schmitt, four times – Janne Ahonen, twice – Andreas Widhölzl, and once each – Kazuyoshi Funaki and Noriaki Kasai.[3]
From 30 December 1998 to 6 January 1999, the 47th Four Hills Tournament was held. The champion was Janne Ahonen, who achieved overall victory without winning any of the four tournament competitions.[5] The events in Oberstdorf and Garmisch-Partenkirchen were won by Martin Schmitt. However, the German representative finished in lower positions in the subsequent events (13th in Innsbruck[6] and 14th in Bischofshofen)[7] and ultimately ranked 4th in the final classification of the 47th Four Hills Tournament. The second and third places in the tournament went to the Japanese competitors Noriaki Kasai and Hideharu Miyahira.[5]
In the last competitions before the World Cup in Zakopane, held in Engelberg (January 9–10), Janne Ahonen and Kazuyoshi Funaki emerged victorious. In the first competition, the Finnish representative outperformed the Japanese competitor and Martin Schmitt and Noriaki Kasai, who were tied for third place.[8] In the second event, the Olympic champion on the large hill from Nagano won ahead of Andreas Widhölzl and Kasai.[9]
The only Polish representative classified in the World Cup was Wojciech Skupień. The jumper from Zakopane had earned 10 points in the overall standings by the time the competitions in Zakopane began, placing him in 49th position. In the Nations Cup, the Polish team ranked thirteenth.[4] The poor performance of the athletes led to the resignation of Pavel Mikeska [pl] from his position as coach of the Polish ski jumping team.[10]Piotr Fijas, Mikeska's assistant, was appointed as the acting coach.[11]
World Cup standings before the competitions in Zakopane
The organization of the Ski Jumping World Cup in Zakopane was managed by the Polish and Tatra Ski Association. The international broadcasting and television transmission of the events were handled by Telewizja Poland. The total cost of organizing the competitions was 500.000 PLN.[12]
A significant challenge for the organizers of the World Cup competitions in Zakopane was the thaw that occurred a week before the events.[13] This thaw caused the snow on the already prepared Wielka Krokiew ski jump to melt. To restore the ski jump for competition use, the organizers brought in snow from higher mountain areas. In the final days before the competitions in Zakopane, a drop in temperature allowed the organizers to use snow cannons to prepare the venue.[13]
Before the start of the World Cup competitions in Zakopane, the president of the Polish Ski Association, Paweł Włodarczyk [pl], promised a bonus of 10.000 PLN for any Polish representative who finished in the top ten of one of the two competitions on the Wielka Krokiew.[14]
Competition program
The first official training session was scheduled for 15 January 1999, and the last competition was the second cup event held two days later.[13] A total of two individual competitions, as well as two qualifying rounds, two official training sessions, and a trial series were planned.[13]
The table below presents a detailed schedule of the jump series planned for the Zakopane 1999 World Cup.
Qualifying round before the individual competitions on the K-116 jump
16 January 1999
12:00 PM
Trial series before the individual competitions on the K-116 jump
1:00 PM
Start of the first competition series of the individual competitions on the K-116 jump, followed by the second competition series
17 January 1999
11:00 AM
Qualifying round before the individual competitions on the K-116 jump
1:00 PM
Start of the first competition series of the individual competitions on the K-116 jump, followed by the second competition series
Ski jump
Wielka Krokiew
The 1999 Zakopane World Cup ski jumping competitions were held at Wielka Krokiew, a ski jump named after skier Stanisław Marusarz, located on the northern slope of Krokiew [pl] mountain in the Western Tatras.[13] Two individual competitions were held on this hill.[13] Previously, the World Cup had been held at Wielka Krokiew four times, in 1980, 1990, 1996, and 1998.[13]
Training rounds and qualifications for the first individual event (15 January 1999)
Tommy Ingebrigtsen, 3rd place finisher in the first competition in Zakopane
The first training round before the World Cup events in Zakopane was interrupted by the competition jury due to excessively strong winds. The remaining rounds were not held.[18] The qualification round planned for Friday was rescheduled to take place on competition day.[18]
Training round and qualifications for the first individual event (16 January 1999)
Andreas Widhölzl, 4th place finisher in both competitions in Zakopane
According to FIS regulations, at least one training round must be held before qualifications or the competition itself.[19] Since no scheduled rounds were completed the day before, the organizers decided to conduct training before qualifications. The longest jump in the training round was made by Robert Mateja, who landed at 110 meters.[19]
The qualifications concluded with Janne Ahonen in first place. The World Cup leader jumped 119.5 meters.[1]Kazuyoshi Funaki landed three and a half meters closer and, despite high scores from the judges, finished 0.8 points behind Ahonen.[1]Dieter Thoma from Germany placed third with a 118-meter jump.[1] The best jumper among those competing for a spot in the first competition round was Hiroya Saitō. The Japanese athlete placed 7th with a jump of 111 meters.[1]
Andreas Goldberger (69 m) and Sven Hannawald (61.5 m) made very short jumps in the qualification round, placing 64th and 67th, respectively.[1] They qualified for the competition only by virtue of their standings within the top fifteen in the overall World Cup rankings.[1]
A total of 68 athletes from 14 countries participated in the qualifications.[1]
First individual competition (16 January 1999)
Stefan Horngacher, winner of the first competition in ZakopaneNoriaki Kasai, 5th place finisher in the first competition in Zakopane
The first individual competition of the World Cup ski jumping event in Zakopane 1999 began with a jump from Polish representative Andrzej Młynarczyk [pl], who achieved a distance of 94.5 meters. This placed him in first position until the jump of the seventh competitor, Robert Mateja, who landed 13.5 meters farther and became the new leader of the competition. Adam Małysz, starting with number ten, jumped 103 meters and positioned himself just behind Mateja. Following Małysz, other competitors, including Takanobu Okabe and Primož Peterka, landed at 96.5 and 97 meters, respectively.[20] During the first round, there was a tailwind that hindered achieving good distances.[20]
Mateja remained in first place until the jump of the 32nd competitor, Tommy Ingebrigtsen, who achieved 115 meters and became the new leader of the competition. The Norwayn gained a 12.6-point advantage over the previous leader.[21]Kristian Brenden managed a jump of 96 meters, which was too short for the previous year's World Cup winner in Zakopane to advance to the second round.[21]Emmanuel Chedal, starting with number 38, landed at 111.5 meters and was just behind Ingebrigtsen.[21]Andreas Goldberger opened the last ten jumps of the first round with a landing at 103 meters.[21]Hideharu Miyahira and Masahiko Harada, who followed him, achieved distances of 110 and 107.5 meters, respectively, placing them among the leaders of the event.[21]Stefan Horngacher surpassed Ingebrigtsen with a jump of 118.5 meters, becoming the new leader.[21] Ingebrigtsen was not overtaken by Morten Ågheim (106.5 meters), Sven Hannawald (106.5 meters), Andreas Widhölzl (115 meters), Noriaki Kasai (107 meters), Kazuyoshi Funaki (109.5 meters), and Janne Ahonen, who led the World Cup standings with a jump of 108.5 meters.[21]
After the first round, Stefan Horngacher held first place, followed by Andreas Widhölzl, Tommy Ingebrigtsen, Nicolas Dessum, and Hideharu Miyahira. The highest-ranked Polish athlete was Robert Mateja in ninth place.[21]
Lasse Ottesen made the first jump of the second round, achieving a distance of 107 meters. The lead changed hands after the jump of the twenty-sixth competitor from the first round, Henning Stensrud, who also landed at 107 meters.[22] The Norwayn held the lead until Peter Žonta, who placed 23rd after a jump of 100.5 meters in the first round, improved his distance by 7.5 meters in the final round and took the lead by 5.7 points over Stensrud. Alexander Herr achieved 106.5 meters, placing him in second place.[22]
Another lead change occurred after the jump of Martin Höllwarth. The Austrian landed at 107 meters, surpassing Žonta by 1.7 points. Kazuyoshi Funaki, following Höllwarth, landed at 115.5 meters and became the new leader thanks to high judges' scores, gaining an 18.6-point advantage over Höllwarth.[22] Funaki was then overtaken by Christian Meyer, who jumped 118.5 meters and took the lead. Andreas Goldberger, with a jump of 115 meters, placed third behind Meyer and Funaki.[22]Noriaki Kasai, eleventh after the first round, achieved 117.5 meters in the final and became the new leader.[22]Masahiko Harada, starting the last ten jumps, achieved a result 10.5 meters shorter and was placed fifth. Robert Mateja followed with the shortest jump of the entire series (88.5 meters), dropping to twentieth place.[22]
Janne Ahonen, eighth after the first round, landed at 121 meters, taking the lead in the competition. Sven Hannawald followed with a jump of 109.5 meters, finishing fourth. Dieter Thoma managed only 109 meters, dropping to seventh place with a 21.1-point deficit to Ahonen.[22]Hideharu Miyahira, fifth after the first jump, achieved 103 meters this time, closing the top ten of the competition.[22]Nicolas Dessum landed 100.5 meters, also losing his place in the top ten.[22]Tommy Ingebrigtsen, third after the first round, achieved 113.5 meters, finishing in second place, just 1.8 points behind the leader Ahonen.[22]Andreas Widhölzl, second after the first jump, landed at 110 meters, finishing third.[22]
Stefan Horngacher, the winner of the first round, jumped 119.5 meters, which was enough for him to secure his second career victory in World Cup ski jumping. His previous win was on 24 February 1991 at the Kulm giant hill in Tauplitz/Bad Mitterndorf.[22] The remaining podium places went to Janne Ahonen and Tommy Ingebrigtsen. The best Polish representative was Adam Małysz, who finished in twenty-seventh place.[22]
A total of 50 competitors from 11 countries participated in the event.[15]
Qualifications for the second individual competition (17 January 1999)
Hideharu Miyahira, 5th place finisher in the second competition in Zakopane
The qualifying round for the second individual competition in Zakopane concluded with Kazuyoshi Funaki's victory. The eighth-place finisher from the first competition achieved a distance of 118.5 meters this time.[2]Robert Mateja secured second place, landing at 118 meters, making him the best among the Polish competitors vying for a spot in the main event.[2]Stefan Horngacher finished third; the winner of the Saturday competition jumped half a meter farther than Mateja but lost to the Polish athlete by 3.8 points due to lower style scores from the judges.[2]
Andreas Widhölzl had a very short jump in the qualifying round, landing at 72 meters, which placed him in 66th position.[2] He secured his place in the competition solely due to his ranking in the top fifteen of the overall World Cup standings.[2]
A total of 68 competitors from 14 countries participated in the qualifications.[2]
Second individual competition (17 January 1999)
Robert Mateja, leader after the first series of the second competition in ZakopaneJanne Ahonen, winner of the second competition in Zakopane
The second individual competition at the Wielka Krokiew was held under sunny weather conditions.[20] The event began with Krystian Długopolski, who jumped 90.5 meters. Following him, Andrzej Młynarczyk landed 2 meters further. The third competitor, Martin Mesík, surpassed the Polish representatives with a jump of 94 meters. Rolando Kaligaro [pl] improved upon Mesík's result by 2.5 meters and became the leader of the competition. Slovenia's lead was then taken over by Łukasz Kruczek, who jumped 105.5 meters. Marius Småriset [pl], in sixth place, managed to jump 1 meter farther than Kruczek, thus surpassing the Polish representative. Starting eighth, Robert Mateja became the new leader of the competition with a jump of 126 meters. The favorable headwind assisted the Polish athlete, but then the wind changed direction, making it difficult for the remaining competitors to achieve long jumps.[20]
The twenty-first competitor on the ramp was Peter Žonta. The Slovenian landed at 113.5 meters, placing him second with a 21.5-point deficit to Mateja. Norwayn skier Christian Meyer, who jumped in the 28th position, achieved a distance of 112 meters, securing third place.[23] Starting in the 30th position, Ronny Hornschuh jumped 114.5 meters and was only behind Mateja. Reinhard Schwarzenberger from Austria also could not surpass Mateja, landing at 116 meters, which put him 17 points behind the leader. His compatriot Martin Höllwarth landed three meters shorter, placing him fourth.[23] Dieter Thoma, who jumped in the 37th position, achieved a distance of 117 meters, trailing Mateja by 15.5 points. Hideharu Miyahira followed, with a jump of 116.5 meters, while Andreas Goldberger landed 9.5 meters shorter.[23] Masahiko Harada jumped 111 meters, and Morten Ågheim could not maintain his jump of 113 meters, which cost him a chance to qualify for the final series.[23]
None of the following competitors managed to surpass Robert Mateja: Sven Hannawald (118 m), Stefan Horngacher (121 m), Andreas Widhölzl (110.5 m), and Noriaki Kasai (110 m).[23] As the second-to-last competitor, Kazuyoshi Funaki soared to 119 meters and received the highest score of 20 points from all judges for his jump. He was ranked second, 5.1 points behind Mateja.[23] The World Cup leader Janne Ahonen achieved a jump of 119 meters, placing third, 6.6 points off the lead. Thus, after the first half of the competition, Robert Mateja led, followed by Kazuyoshi Funaki and Janne Ahonen.[23]
The second series began with Lasse Ottesen, who held 30th place after the first series. The Norwayn achieved a distance of 108 meters, allowing him to lead the competition until the 24th jump of Henning Stensrud. Stensrud managed to jump half a meter further, putting him ahead by 4.8 points.[23] The lead changed again with Nicolas Dessum's jump of 118 meters, which put the Frenchman ahead until Tommy Ingebrigtsen jumped 117.5 meters, surpassing Dessum by 4 points.[23] Ingebrigtsen lost the lead after Andreas Widhölzl jumped 124 meters. Masahiko Harada, who was fifteenth after the first series, jumped 111 meters and placed fifth. Wolfgang Loitzl followed him, achieving a distance of 112.5 meters, which put him 12.3 points behind Widhölzl. Peter Žonta, who finished twelfth after the first series, jumped 112 meters, just behind Loitzl.[23]
The last ten competitors in the second series began with Martin Höllwarth, who scored 109.5 meters and placed eighth. Ronny Hornschuh jumped 108 meters, falling behind Widhölzl by 21.1 points. Reinhard Schwarzenberger, the eighth jumper from the first series, managed only 99 meters, losing his place in the top ten.[23] Dieter Thoma also spoiled his final attempt, achieving 108.5 meters and falling to twelfth place. Hideharu Miyahira advanced to second place with a well-rated jump of 110 meters in the second series.[23] Sven Hannawald, landing 1.5 meters shorter, finished fifth, behind Widhölzl, Miyahira, Ingebrigtsen, and Loitzl. Fourth after the first series, Stefan Horngacher jumped 116.5 meters in the final round, taking the lead over Widhölzl by 1.9 points.[23]
Next on the ramp was Janne Ahonen. The World Cup leader achieved the longest jump of the competition at 128.5 meters, becoming the new leader. Ahonen benefited from favorable conditions as the wind shifted to blow in his favor just before his jump.[19] Kazuyoshi Funaki, the second-place jumper after the first series, landed 7.5 meters shorter than Ahonen, finishing second with a deficit of 4.6 points.[19] When the final competitor, Robert Mateja, took his turn, the wind again shifted to an unfavorable direction for the jumpers. The Polish representative spoiled his final attempt, with a jump of 99 meters, which was the lowest-scored jump in the second series. This result placed Mateja in 16th place in the competition.[19]
As a result, Janne Ahonen claimed victory. This win marked his tenth career triumph and fifth of the season in the World Cup. Kazuyoshi Funaki and Stefan Horngacher followed closely behind him in the rankings.[24]
A total of 50 competitors from 11 countries participated in the competition.[17]
Falls
During the second individual competition at the Wielka Krokiew, there was one fall. Morten Ågheim could not maintain his jump of 113 meters.[17]
Controversies
During the second individual competition, there was a theft at the Hotel Zakopane, where all the national ski jumping teams were staying. Thieves broke into the hotel room of Wolfgang Loitzl and Reinhard Schwarzenberger, stealing documents, mobile phones, and cash amounting to approximately 1.000 USD.[19][25]
FIS World Cup standings after the competitions in Zakopane
Following the competitions in Zakopane, there were several changes in the standings of the top competitors in the World Cup.[26] Stefan Horngacher moved up to sixth place, surpassing Sven Hannawald and Morten Ågheim. Hideharu Miyahira advanced from tenth to ninth position, overtaking Masahiko Harada. Kazuya Yoshioka and Wolfgang Loitzl both climbed from twelfth and thirteenth places to eleventh, sharing the same point total and pushing Andreas Goldberger down to thirteenth. The only change in the top fifteen of the overall World Cup standings was Tommy Ingebrigtsen replacing Dieter Thoma in fifteenth place before the competitions in Zakopane.[26]
In the Nations Cup standings, Japan remained in first place. Austria moved up to second, at the expense of Germany, which fell to third place.[26]
World Cup standings after the competitions in Zakopane
Below is a summary of the lineups of all national teams that participated in the World Cup ski jumping competitions in Zakopane in 1999. Of the top fifteen in the overall World Cup standings, only Martin Schmitt, who was in second place before the competition in Poland,[4] was absent at the startman representative was initially registered for the competition but ultimately did not arrive in Zakopane due to a cold.[27]
Since the host of the event, it was entitled to field an additional ten competitors in the qualifiers from the so-called national quota, applicable for two competitions organized on home soil. Thus, 14 Polish representatives participated in the qualifications for each of the two competitions on the Wielka Krokiew hill.[1][2]
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