Schlierenzauer wins World Cup ski jump at Whistler’s Olympic venue

Published 2:59 pm Saturday, January 24, 2009

WHISTLER, British Columbia — Austrian Gregor Schlierenzauer captured a World Cup ski jumping event Saturday in the first competition held on the hill that will be used at the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Schlierenzauer moved atop the World Cup standings with his sixth win of the season, earning 298.2 points from jumps of 142 and 139.5 meters. He set the record on the Whistler hill in training Friday with a jump of 143.5 meters.

Countryman Wolfgang Loitzl was second with 274.1 points on jumps of 136.5 and 135.5 meters, while Finland’s Matti Hautamaeki finished third with 270.6 points after soaring 136.5 and 135.5 meters.

Switzerland’s Simon Ammann finished fourth and dropped to second in the overall standings for the first time this season.