Always eagerly anticipated among athletes, teams and fans, the FIS Ski Jumping Grand Prix 2017 will kick off in Wisla (POL) this weekend.
The famous summer series will embark on its 24th edition for the men and sixth edition for the ladies who will have their first competitions in Courchevel (FRA) on 8th August.
Besides Wisla, the men will travel to six other locations including Hinterzarten (GER), Courchevel (FRA), Hakuba (JPN) Chaikosky (RUS), Hinzenbach (AUT) and the final competitions Klingenthal (GER).
After Courchevel, the ladies will stop in Chaikovsky (RUS) together with the men and for the first time, they will compete in Frenstat (CZE) on 18th and 19th August.
Click here for the Grand Prix calendar.
Favourites
On the men’s side, Maciej Kot (POL), who won the Grand Prix last summer, is one of the favourites. Besides Kot, many eyes will be on Andreas Wellinger (GER) who has enjoyed strong results in previous editions. Traditionally, the Grand Prix is a perfect platform for surprise winners and this year’s edition will again be filled with excitement.
On the ladies’ side, ski jumping queen Sara Takanashi (JPN) is the clear favourite as she has won all editions of the Grand Prix since its premiere in 2012 and also claimed the FIS World Cup crystal globe last winter. Carina Vogt (GER) and Irina Avvakumova (RUS) rounded out the Grand Prix rankings last year.
Continental Cup underway
Last weekend, summer competitions in Ski Jumping got underway with Continental Cup competitions in Kranj (SLO). Poland’s Klemens Muranka claimed victory in both individual competitions. The men will move on to Szczyrk (POL), Wisla (POL), Frenstat (CZE) Stams (AUT), Trondheim (NOR), Rasnov (ROU) and Klingenthal (GER) this summer while the ladies will compete in Oberwiesenthal (GER) and Trondheim (NOR).
Click here for the Continental Cup calendar.
Source: fis-ski.com
