2001–02 FIS Ski Jumping World Cup – Zakopane

2001–02 FIS Ski Jumping World Cup – Zakopane was a series of ski jumping competitions held as part of the 2001–02 FIS Ski Jumping World Cup from 18 to 20 January 2002 at the Wielka Krokiew in Zakopane, Poland.

Two individual competitions were contested on the large hill, marking the seventh time Zakopane hosted World Cup ski jumping events. These were the 15th and 16th competitions of the 2001–02 World Cup season.

The first competition was won by Matti Hautamäki of Finland, while the second was won by Adam Małysz of Poland. Sven Hannawald of Germany finished second in both events. Third place went to Andreas Widhölzl of Austria in the first competition and Matti Hautamäki in the second.

This was the fifth time Zakopane hosted two individual large hill competitions as part of the Ski Jumping World Cup. In 1980, one competition was held on the normal hill and one on the large hill, while in 1990, a single large hill competition took place.

A total of 73 athletes from 16 nations participated, with the oldest competitor being the Czech Republic's Jaroslav Sakala (32 years, 188 days) and the youngest being Belarus' (17 years, 285 days).

Pre-competition

Prior to the Zakopane events, 16 competitions had been held in the 2001–02 World Cup season, including 14 individual and two team events. The overall World Cup leader was Adam Małysz of Poland with 1074 points, 175 points ahead of Sven Hannawald of Germany. Matti Hautamäki of Finland held third place with 611 points. In the Nations Cup, Germany led, followed by Austria and Finland.

Previous World Cup events in the season saw victories by Adam Małysz and Sven Hannawald (six times each), Risto Jussilainen, and Stephan Hocke (once each).

From 30 December 2001 to 6 January 2002, the 2001–02 Four Hills Tournament was held, with Sven Hannawald becoming the first skier to win all four competitions in a single edition. Matti Hautamäki finished second, and Martin Höllwarth took third, while Adam Małysz, a pre-tournament favorite, placed fourth.

The most recent competitions before Zakopane, held in Willingen, Germany, on 12–13 January, were won by Sven Hannawald (individual) and the Austrian team (team event). In the individual competition, Hannawald outperformed Matti Hautamäki and Veli-Matti Lindström of Finland. In the team event, Austria defeated Finland and Germany.

World Cup standings before Zakopane +World Cup standings before Zakopane eventsRankAthleteCountryPointsDeficit to leader1Poland1074–2Germany8991753Finland6114634Austria5754995Austria5055696Germany4576177Germany4446308Switzerland4026729Austria36071410Finland34273211Japan32874612Austria25981512Italy25981514Austria23983515United States20387116Finland20087417Slovenia18588918Japan17789719Russia17689820Czech Republic14193321Germany13494022Finland13394122Finland13394124Switzerland12694825Finland12495026Slovenia12195327Japan10996528Germany10896629Japan10696830Slovenia10497031Finland8798732Germany8499033Slovenia8399134Norway8299235Japan73100136Germany72100237Russia67100738Norway66100839France61101340United States51102341Norway44103042Japan43103143Finland25104944Austria24105045Germany23105146Finland21105347Czech Republic20105448Austria19105549Finland15105950Finland13106151Poland9106551Slovenia9106551Sweden9106554Germany8106654Poland8106656Poland7106757Switzerland6106857Kazakhstan6106857France6106860Slovenia5106960Finland5106962Poland4107063Germany3107164France2107265Germany1107365South Korea11073

Event organization

For the first time, the World Cup competitions were to be held on the modernized Wielka Krokiew. The ski jump was rebuilt ahead of the 2001 Winter Universiade. As part of the modernization, the construction point was moved from 116 to 120 meters, and the jury point from 128 to 134 meters.

For each of the two competitions, the organizers prepared 40.000 tickets, half of which were available in presale. The ticket price for both competitions was 20 PLN, and for one competition – 15 PLN. The reduced-price ticket cost 5 PLN.

Event schedule The first official ski jumping training was scheduled for 18 January 2002, and the last event was the second World Cup competition held two days later. In total, two individual competitions were planned, as well as two qualification rounds, two official trainings, and one trial round. DateTimeEvent18 January 200211:00 AMOfficial training on the K-120 hill (2 rounds)1:00 PMQualification round before the individual competition on the K-120 hill19 January 200212:00 PMTrial round before the individual competition on the K-120 hill1:45 PMStart of the first round of the individual competition on the K-120 hill, followed by the second competition round20 January 200212:00 PMQualification round before the individual competition on the K-120 hill1:45 PMStart of the first round of the individual competition on the K-120 hill, followed by the second competition round

Ski jumping hill The 2002 World Cup ski jumping competitions in Zakopane were held at Wielka Krokiew, a ski jumping hill named after the skier Stanisław Marusarz, located on the northern slope of Krokiew mountain in the Western Tatras. Two individual competitions were conducted at the venue. Wielka Krokiew has hosted World Cup competitions six times before – in 1980, 1990, 1996, 1998, and in January and December 1999.

Jury On behalf of the International Ski Federation, the competition director was , with Miran Tepeš as his assistant. Additionally, the head of the competitions representing the World Cup organizers in Zakopane was the Pole Władysław Gąsienica Roj. The technical delegate during all the competitions was the Norwayn Torgeir Nordby, assisted by the Austrian Max Sandbichler. JudgeCountryJudging tower positionQualification for first individual competition (18 January 2002)First individual competition (19 January 2002)Qualification for second individual competition (20 January 2002)Second individual competition (20 January 2002)Bruno BosinItalyEEAAKazimierz DługopolskiPolandBBCCGerhard KrabAustriaDDBBGeir S. LøngNorwayAADDPeter SchlankSlovakiaCCEE

Competition

Training rounds and qualifications for the first individual competition (18 January 2002)

The first of three training rounds began on Friday, 18 January at 11:00 AM. Its winner was Adam Małysz, who achieved a distance of 125 meters in his attempt. Sven Hannawald landed one meter shorter. The third-best result was by Michael Uhrmann with 118 meters.

In the second training, the longest jump was made by Sven Hannawald. The German representative landed at 132 meters. Adam Małysz jumped 3.5 meters shorter. Andreas Widhölzl was third with 125 meters.

The qualification round for the first individual event started at 1:00 PM. It ended with a win by Robert Kranjec. The Slovenian jumper reached 129.5 meters and was the best competitor among those fighting for a place in the first competition round. Andreas Widhölzl landed four meters shorter and took second place. Third was Norwayn Anders Bardal, who jumped 126 meters. Competitors already qualified for the competition started from the 14th and 13th start gates, while those fighting for a place in the competition jumped from the 14th gate.

Despite being listed on the start list, Jussi Hautamäki, Ville Kantee, and Sven Hannawald – who had a guaranteed place in the competition due to holding second place in the World Cup standings – did not participate in the qualifications.

69 out of 72 registered athletes from 16 countries took part in the qualifications.

Trial round before the first individual competition (19 January 2002)

The trial round before the first individual competition began on 19 January at 12:00 PM. It ended with a victory by Martin Schmitt, who jumped 136 meters. This jump was half a meter longer than the Wielka Krokiew record, which was held by Stefan Kaiser and set in March 2001 during the Continental Cup competition.

First individual competition (19 January 2002)

The first individual competition started on 19 January at 1:45 PM. The event took place under variable wind conditions.

The first to jump was Marcin Bachleda, who reached 99.5 meters. The Pole led until the jump of the third competitor, Łukasz Kruczek, who landed 10.5 meters further than his compatriot and became the new leader. The fifth jumper on the hill was Blaž Vrhovnik, who, thanks to a distance of 112 meters, was classified in first place. The Slovenian led the competition until Lars Bystøl's jump. The Norwayn, starting with number 15, reached 116 meters. The same result was achieved by Tomasz Pochwała, who, due to higher style points, overtook Bystøl by 0.5 points. Pochwała led until the jump of his compatriot, Robert Mateja (118.5 m). Dirk Else jumped 6.5 meters further than Mateja. The German became the new leader of the competition, with a 10.2 point lead over Mateja. Dirk Else could not be overtaken by Wolfgang Loitzl (121.5 m), Primož Peterka (117.5 m), Michael Uhrmann (117.5 m), Peter Žonta (121.5 m), and Stefan Horngacher (106.5 m).

The first of the last 10 competitors in the first round was Martin Koch, who jumped 125 meters and became the leader of the competition with a 2-point advantage over Else. The next to jump was Risto Jussilainen, who landed at 114 meters. Andreas Goldberger jumped 88.5 meters and was classified in the last place. Another German competitor, Martin Schmitt, reached 122 meters and took third place in the competition. His compatriot, Stephan Hocke, landed at 112.5 meters and was ranked 25th after his attempt. Andreas Widhölzl flew 11.5 meters further and became the new leader of the competition. The Austrian was ahead of his compatriot Koch by 0.7 points. Martin Höllwarth jumped 120.5 meters. Three meters further landed Matti Hautamäki, who took third place in the competition. Sven Hannawald jumped 124 meters after him. The German overtook the Finn by 0.4 points and took third place. The World Cup leader Adam Małysz jumped 120.5 meters and was ranked seventh, 6.3 points behind the leader Andreas Widhölzl. Behind the Austrian, the next positions were held by Martin Koch and Sven Hannawald.