MANUEL FETTNER OF Austria sails through the air on the second day of competition at the Marshfield Medical Center-Dickinson Pine Mountain Continental Cup meet Saturday at Pine Mountain. (Dave Kallmann photo)
IRON MOUNTAIN — Austria’s Manuel Fettner placed first in the morning competition today at the FIS Continental Cup at Pine Mountain, gliding 440 feet on his best ride in the two-round competition.
Germany’s Markus Eisenbichler placed second and had the longest ride at 450 feet. Fettner has the longest jump so far in the scheduled four-event Continental Cup, soaring a record 461 feet on Friday.
Another competition is taking place this afternoon at Giant Pine and the fourth is set for 1 p.m. Sunday.
On Friday, Kiwanis Ski Club President Nick Blagec described the tournament as “unreal, the best jumping I’ve ever seen.”
Rounding out the podium in the morning competition were Zak Mogel of Slovenia, third; Jonas Schuster of Austria, fourth; and Maciej Kot of Poland, fifth.
FROM LEFT, runner-up Markus Eisenbichler of Germany, winner Manuel Fettner of Austria and third-place finisher Zak Mogel of Slovenia comprise the podium for the morning round on the second day of competition at the Marshfield Medical Center-Dickinson Pine Mountain Continental Cup meet Saturday at Pine Mountain. (Dave Kallmann photo)
Andrew Urlaub was the top U.S. finisher, placing 21st in the 10-team international field. His best jump was 413 feet.
Mogel’s longest ride was 440 feet, while Schuster had a jump of 427 feet and Kot sailed 420 feet on both of his attempts.
The FIS scoring system allows for gate/wind compensation, which is included in each skier’s point total, along with distance and style grades.
Norway’s Robert Johansson, who placed first on Friday, finished seventh in today’s morning event.