Nordic Combined

Hirner fifth in Oslo ++ Denifl no longer ÖSV coach

Wilhelm Denifl

(Bild: GEPA)

A fall in the finish of the second Holmenkollen World Cup event of the Nordic combined women has cost Lisa Hirner a possible podium place! Saturday's runner-up had to settle for fifth place at the end of the season. Victory went to Norway's Gyda Westvold Hansen, who celebrated her 24th World Cup victory 15.6 seconds ahead of compatriot Ida Marie Hagen. Austria's women's head coach Wilhelm Denifl surprisingly resigned on Sunday.

The former top combined skier, who was seen in a suit (due to a bet) on the outrun, used the women's combined World Cup final to say goodbye after two years as ÖSV women's head coach. "The decision has been on the table for some time, now is exactly the right time for me. I really enjoyed my time as an athlete and later as a coach. The Nordic combined is and remains a great passion of mine and the last two years as women's head coach in particular have given me a lot of pleasure," Denifl said. He now wants to try something new. "The path will lead me into the private sector, we'll see more details then," said Denifl, who found the decision difficult.

Liegl regrets Denifl's departure
The Sports Director for Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined, Florian Liegl, regretted the decision. "You have to respect this decision, even if I think it's an extreme shame. He did an extremely good job, first in the second training group and now for the last two years with the women. You can see that a step forward has definitely been made under his leadership," said Liegl.

Denifl was seen off with a good performance from his team (Claudia Purker finished tenth, Annalena Slamik 17th), even if Hirner did not make it onto the podium again. "Yes, it went very badly. I was already very focused on the finish, felt brutally good and cut myself. That was a cool race for me, I have to take that at the end as a hoppala," said Hirner, who also summed up her season. "It wasn't an easy season, I also had a very difficult season mentally." Nevertheless, she had ticked off her goal for the season with two medals at the World Championships. "On the whole, despite being ill, it's still been a cool season."

It hurts her to say goodbye to Denifl. "Willi was a very good coach, even if we didn't always see eye to eye. It's a shame to lose someone like that."