Hendrickson wins second World Cup; Jerome nabs third
Three U.S. team members in top 10, besting all other nations

HINTERZARTEN, GER., Jan. 8 — Sarah Hendrickson has now won two out of the three World Cup competitions so far this season after a resounding 30-point victory Sunday over second-place finisher Sara Takanashi, of Japan.

Sara Takinashi, JPN, Sarah Hendrickson, USA, Jessica Jerome, US -- Photo by ladiesskijumping.comAnd the U.S. celebration doesn’t stop there. Teammate Jessica Jerome fought back to a decisive third-place after battling unlucky wind and snow conditions on Saturday that cut the competition short after just one round. Lindsey Van finished 7^th. Alissa Johnson was 23^rd and Abby Hughes was 25^th.

“Yesterday was difficult with the weather and I haven’t been here in a couple years,” said Hendrickson, 17. “Today I got in another good training jump and got a feel for the hill. I was super confident after that and knew warming up that I could do it.”

Hendrickson jumped 107.5 and 104.5 meters on the 95K hill. Her first jump set a new ladies record on the HS108 jump. She won the women’s World Cup (WC) opener in Lillehammer on Dec. 3, and claimed the title as the first woman ever to win a WC ski jumping competition. This is the first season the International Ski Federation has held a WC for women.

Jerome jumped 101 meters both rounds Sunday. Last year, Jerome captured a 4^th in Hinterzarten and finished 5^th overall on the Continental Cup tour. She’s been working on one small technical aspect of her jumping and said she’s getting a handle on it and improving.

“I got a lot of sleep last night and I woke up and felt good today and knew I was capable of having good jumps and doing well on this hill,” said Jerome, who was just nudged out of second-place by Takanashi, who jumped shorter, but received more style points.

“With the continued growth of the sport and it being more competitive than years ago, everyone is definitely fine-tuned and absolutely everything counts,” she said.

Van, won took 2^nd in Saturday’s competition, jumped 94.0m and 93.5m on Sunday. She missed the World Cup opener in Lillehammer while healing from ankle surgery and has been battling mono.

“It’s so awesome to see Jessica do that well, she had awesome jumps today and so did Lindsey,” said Hendrickson. “To have three of us in the top 10 … No other nation can say that today. We train hard and compete well.”

The World Cup continues on Jan. 14 and 15 in Val di Fiemme, Italy.

World Cup
Hinterzarten, Germany
Sunday, Jan. 8, 2012
Women’s Normal Hill, K95
(with wind system calculation)

1. Sarah Hendrickson, USA, (107.5, 104.5) 273.2
2. Sara Takanashi, JPN, (100.5, 99.5) 242.6
3. Jessica Jerome, USA (101.0, 101.0) 240.1

---

7. Lindsey Van, USA, (94, 83.5) 215.8
23. Alissa Johnson, USA (91, 91) 196
25. Abby Hughes, USA (89.5, 88.5) 87.8

World Cup
Hinterzarten, Germany
Saturday, Jan. 7, 2012
Women’s Normal Hill, K95
(with wind system calculation)

Competition concluded after first jump only due to poor weather conditions.

1. Sabrina Windmuller, SUI, (100) 114.7
2. Lindsey Van, USA, (94) 113.9
3. Lisa Demetz, ITA, (97.5) 110.7

---

9. Sarah Hendrickson, USA, (89) 104.0
27. Jessica Jerome, USA (86) 88.5
32. Alissa Johnson, USA (83.5) 85.1
38. Abby Hughes, USA (80) 77.8

 

Van takes 2nd in windy, snowy Hinterzarten World Cup

Jan. 7 - In her first World Cup ever, Lindsey Van — 27-year-old veteran of the sport — nabbed a 2nd place Saturday in Hinterzarten, Germany. Only the scores from the first round were counted because the wind and snow conditions caused lengthly delays and forced the competition to conclude after just a handful of women jumped in the second round.

Lindsey Van (USA), Sabrina Windmuller (SUI) and Lisa Demetz (ITA). Photo by ladiesskijumping.com"The weather was gnarly with really unpredictable conditions," said Van. "I’m definitely happy with results today. My jumps were pretty good, not great, but I’m looking forward to jumping farther tomorrow and hoping to do well again."

Ironically, Saturday's competition was a make-up for the cancellation of the Jan. 6 Schonach comp that was cancelled because of warm weather and a lack of snow.

Sabrina Windmüller, SUI, won with a jump of 100 meters; Van was 2nd with 94m and Lisa Demetz (ITA) was 3rd with 97.5m. Visa Women's Ski Jumping members Sarah Hendrickson was 9th (89m); Jessica Jerome was 27th (86m); Alissa Johnson was 32nd (83.5m); and Abby Hughes was 38th (80m).

Coach Paolo Bernardi said he was happy and satisfied with Saturday's results given the conditions.

"The big issue was that the wind was not friendly to us today," he said. "Then, after 25 jumpers went in the first round it started to snow really hard and Abby, Alissa and Jessica really lost a lot of speed in all the snow, but managed to jump very well."

Hendrickson, who still leads the World Cup in overall points, is performing well but just got caught up in the worst wind conditions, Bernardi said.

Van didn't compete in the World Cup opener in Lillehammer, Norway in December as she was healing from  ankle surgery in October. She said she had no problems with her leg Saturday.

"With better conditions tomorrow I definitely think our team as a whole can get in the top 15 or 10 for sure and we're looking forward to it," Van said.

The World Cup continues Sunday with another competition at Hinterzarten.

World Cup
Hinterzarten, Germany
Jan. 7, 2012
Women’s Normal Hill
(with wind system calculation)

Comeptition concluded after first jump only due to poor weather conditions.

1. Sabrina Windmuller, SUI, (100) 114.7
2. Lindsey Van, USA, (94) 113.9
3. Lisa Demetz, ITA, (97.5) 110.7

---

9. Sarah Hendrickson, USA, (89) 104.0
27. Jessica Jerome, USA (86) 88.5
32. Alissa Johnson, USA (83.5) 85.1
38. Abby Hughes, USA (80) 77.8

###