Ski jumping: Stefan Kraft lashes out
Second in 2017 and third in 2020 in the election for Austrian athlete of the year, ski jumper Stefan Kraft thought 2024 would be the year. “It’s something I’ve missed in my career, and I think I have a very good chance this time,” he told the Salzburg24 website a few weeks ago.
Despite thirteen World Cup victories, winning the big crystal globe and the small one in ski flying, the Raw Air as well as gold at the World Ski Flying Championships, Stefan Kraft was not elected, beaten by Valentin Bontus, last summer’s Olympic kitesurfing champion. “I’m not belittling his performance, but I was disappointed when the results were announced,” he told the same media outlet.
He goes on to criticise the way in which the lucky man was selected: “It’s annoying that there are no guidelines in this vote, he says. The fact that Austrian skiers achieve good results has become commonplace; it’s all too normal and predictable. Austria expects it and is used to it. So when an athlete who is not in the limelight does something special, it immediately attracts attention.”
For the coming season, which will be marked by the World Championships in Trondheim (Norway), Stefan Kraft has set himself a major objective: to win the Four Hills Tournament ten years after his first success.
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