Klemens Muranka on Friday, January 29, 2021 broke the hill record in Willingen, when he jumped 153 meters in the qualification for the World Cup competition on Muehlenkopfschanze. Several minutes later Andrzej Stęka³ reached 152 meters. What the Poles were doing should be called madness. Both jumps were reminiscent of other events from Willingen. On February 3, 2001, Adam Małysz jumped 151.5 meters there. Back then, however, it was an unimaginable leap. It was hard to believe that it was possible to stop jumping such a distance on a large hill.
The legendary jump of Małysz in Willingen. The Czech commentator shouted that “touch se snehu!”
On the list of records in Willingen, Ma³ysz’s attempt down was already dropped by the jumps of Janne Ahonen from 2005 and Yuri Tepes from 2014. Both at 152 meters, although it seemed that the Finn landed much further – at the beginning he was measured as much as 155.5 meters. It has been proven that it is possible to jump further than Małysz here and even land, but for Poles it does not matter. 151.5 meters of the Vistula River was unique not only because of the distance, but perhaps mainly because of the circumstances.
Malysz improved the hill record the day before and twice. Then, however, he achieved 142 and 142.5 meters, which did not make such an impression, although they were better than the previous record jump of Andreas Widhoelzl by seven meters. In the competition on February 3, 2001, it snowed heavily in the first round. The wind made many players completely unable to cope with the conditions and fell on the boule. In the general classification of the World Cup, Martin Schmitt was on the second position and 136 points behind Adam Małysz. Crowds of fans gathered on the hill ready to see Schmitt win and chase Malysz in the competition for the Crystal Globe. And they saw the drama of Schmitt, who then jumped only 97 meters and did not advance to the second series. He was only 44 and furiously left the facility before the end of the competition. Małysz jumped 122 meters, was eighth after the first round and had to attack in the final jump if he wanted to fight for victory.
And then he took that leap. Several times favorable gusts of air flowed under his skis, carrying him beyond the size of the hill. As it turned out later, outside the distance plates. At 151.5 meters. Despite the unique profile of the hill, so far no one expected that it would be possible to fly so far and stand still in Willingen. Malysz landed on two feet and miraculously kept his balance. “Ah! Touch se snehu!” – shouted the Czech commentator when he noticed that the Pole was very close to catching the landing with his right hand when he was saving himself from falling. Was there a support? It’s hard to assess – the judges, who then issued notes from the height of the judges’ tower, did not comment on their decisions for us, but gave Małysz three times 16.5 points and two times 16 points. It is difficult for others to judge, because in the TV broadcast you can see that Małysz’s hand stops just above the snow, but it is impossible to tell if he is really touching it. The Pole, however, fought hard to stop the jump.
Ville Kantee won then with Małysz, but he wanted no one to disqualify him. “I was very scared”
Not everyone is aware that Małysz did not even win this competition in Willingen. – After the competition I told Adam that what he did was crazy – Ville Kantee told Sport.pl. It was he who beat Małysz then, and in the second jump he also achieved an amazing distance – 146 meters, which was then the second result in the history of the hill in Willingen. He did not see Małysz’s jump, because he was waiting on the mountain for his attempt. He doesn’t even remember the fans’ reaction, because his mind was occupied with something completely different. “Matti Hautamaeki accidentally took my race number from the locker room and we had no way to switch before we knew it. I was very afraid of disqualification after my jump, but luckily at the bottom we both passed the control and we could enjoy the result – said the jumper.
– I remember this competition mainly because of the unique atmosphere. A lot of fans came to support Martin Schmitt and Sven Hannawald. And my second jump? Great, using good conditions. I was a bit afraid of landing, because there was a lot of fresh snow on the departure. But luckily everything went my way. I could have gone even a few meters further, but I knew that if I shortened my jump a bit and landed well, I would get good grades for style – said Kantee. For the Finn, it was the second and last victory in his career. – Now I don’t miss sport anymore, I just have nice memories from that period and let it stay that way. After finishing my career, I pursued my second passion, which is music, and played in the band The Kroisos. We recorded one album in 2009 and had a European tour. But now we don’t play anymore and we haven’t met for many years. I still love the music and work on it when I edit the videos and sound, he added.
Tajner considers Małysz’s jump from Willingen to be the best in his career. But with the extension of the hill he is wrong
The attempt from Willingen was considered the best jump in Adam’s career by his then coach Apoloniusz Tajner. – Adam’s flight killed the Germans. RTL invited us to its plexiglass studio. Beer mugs thrown by the Germans broke against these windows – .
Tajner also believes that the hill was extended by 10 meters after Małysz’s jump. – To make such a jump as Adam did then, you would have to reach 156 or 157 meters – he told Sport.pl. However, the Germans claim that there has been no interference with the landing from 2001 to this day in Willingen. – The hill is exactly the same as in the times of Malysz. In agreement with the FIS, we moved point K here, but no excavators have been working on the landing hill for 20 years. The profile has not changed. The only thing that the hill has gained since 2001 is a new judges’ tower and floodlights. They were built for 2013 for EUR 2.2 million – Bernd Saure, spokesman for the competition, told TVP Sport.
Małysz’s “symbol jump” will remain legendary. Murańka’s record of records is a beautiful reference
It seems that Klemens Murańka’s jump from 2021 will never be as special as that of Małysz. 153 meters of Murańka is the longest official record of a large hill in history. Such a result must be appreciated, but it will be difficult for him to beat the achievement of such a legendary figure as Adam Małysz 20 years ago, which is also one of his most appreciated and popular jumps. Here it is necessary to mention the words of Tajner, who chose this attempt even above the extraordinary 138.5 meters from the same year in Trondheim. Murańka’s record is a beautiful reference to 2001, but also a record obtained in other circumstances – improved by a meter, and not, as in the case of Małysz, by nine.
– I watched this jump of Adam hundreds of times, probably like everyone. I wasn’t there, but I feel how amazing this flight was. This jump is a symbol of “Małyszomania” – told us Krystian Długopolski, a former Polish jumper. It was a result like from a new era and will remain legendary in Poland, even if someone manages to stand 160 meters in Willingen soon. There are jumps that become historic primarily on the scale of the achievement and its circumstances. This is how it is and will be with Małysz’s jump.
Source: Sport.PL
Tristin is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his in-depth and engaging writing on sports. He currently works as a writer at 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the sports industry.
