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Wind Problems
Tuesday February 15 2011 05:59 PM
Forty four athletes from 13 countries started their competition in Nordic Combined. From the beginning the Austrians were the favourites on paper. They met these expectations when Markus Gruber landed on the 101.5 m mark and left the whole line-up behind.
Markus was the first to step onto the track at the Vesec venue but he failed to retain his advantage. The athletes ran three laps of the 2.5 km track and there was no place to rest on the difficult terrain. The first to cross the finishing line was the German athlete David Welde, who had started the run from fourth position, 1:08 minutes behind the leader. Another athlete, Jani Peltola from Finland, made his way through the field and finished second. The winner of the bronze, Norwegian Mads Kristoffer Waaler, who started the second round in 10th place, 1:42 behind the leader, produced a remarkable performance.
The Czech representative, Ondřej Kelnar was third after the first round with his jump of 96 metres. "It is great. I hope to do well and finish somewhere among the best. I'll do the best I can," said Ondřej Kelnar.
Unfortunately, his wish was not fulfilled. He blamed a strong gust of wind for blowing him over on the track. He finished the rest of the race with cramp without taking advantage of his previously promising position.
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