Katharina Althaus speechless after first major championship gold at Nordic World Ski Championships
BySportsbeat
Updated 23/02/2023 at 23:59 GMT
The German Katharina Althaus battled tricky conditions to convert her three career silvers into gold with a total score of 249.1 to claim gold at the Nordic World Ski Championships in Planica. Althaus said: "I thought from jump to jump it was getting better and better. I concentrated on the things I can really do. The second jump was really, really good and I'm so happy."
'Finally!' - Watch the moment Althaus wins her long-awaited world championships gold
Katharina Althaus broke her silver medal streak to take a first individual gold at the Nordic World Ski Championships in Planica, Slovenia.
The German was runner-up in the same event, normal hill, at Pyeongchang 2018 and Beijing 2022, either side of world silver at Tyrol 2019.
And going into the final, Anna Odine Stroem led Althaus by 0.2 points but a fine jump of 97m put the pressure on the Norwegian.
With a strong tailwind, Stroem could only manage 114.8 points to take bronze, sparking tears from Althaus and her coach.
Althaus said: "I'm speechless. It's so great. I'm really happy and grateful for this medal. I don't have words.
"I thought from jump to jump it was getting better and better. I concentrated on the things I can really do. The second jump was really, really good and I'm so happy."
World Cup leader Eva Pinkelnig was also jubilant after Stroem's slip up confirmed she would move one step up the podium to silver.
And for Stroem it was a fourth third-placed finish at a World Championships, but her first individual medal at a major championships.
The Nordic World Ski Championships continues on Friday with the men's normal hill qualification round starting at 5:45pm local time.
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Stream the 2023 Nordic World Ski Championships live on Eurosport and discovery+
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