Piotr Zyla retains normal hill title with brilliant jump to deny Andreas Wellinger

Piotr Zyla successfully defended his normal hill Nordic World Championship title with an outstanding comeback performance in Plancia.

Zyla earned his third gold, and his seventh World Championship medal, thanks to a stunning final jump which saw him rise from 13th after the first round to power to the top of the podium.

The three-time gold medallist finished 2.6 points ahead of Germany’s Andreas Wellinger, with his compatriot Karl Geiger taking third.

Zyla becomes the first athlete to successfully defend the normal hill title since compatriot Adam Malysz did so in 2003 and it is the Pole’s first gold medal of the season, having earned just three World Cup podiums, the most recent coming in December.

It was also a second-consecutive World Championship podium for Geiger, who adds another bronze to his impressive collection, having earned silver in the same event two years earlier in Oberstdorf.

However, there was disappointment for World Cup leader Halvor Egner Granerud, who finished in 11th, while second-placed Dawid Kubacki could not join his compatriot on the podium, finishing fifth.

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