Austrian teenager wins Four Hills opener

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2006-12-31 14:29

Austrian teenager Gregor Schlierenzauer started the prestigious Four Hills tournament on a winning note on Saturday with a victory in the opening leg at the southern German resort of Obertsdorf.

Schlierenzauer, 16, took Saturday's lead after the first round with a jump of 135.5 meters and built upon that with the longest jump of the evening on the second leg -- 142 meters -- to finish with a total of 296 points.

Andreas Kuettel of Switzerland was a distant second with 286.5 points at the event held under the floodlights and before a crowd of 21,000. Former winner Adam Malysz of Poland took third with 280.3 points.

Schlierenzauer also took over the World Cup lead with 410 points after his third victory of the season.

Germany's Sven Hannawald is the only man to win all four hills in the tournament in its 55-year history -- in 2001/02.

The event continues on January 1 at Garmisch-Partenkirchen before moving to Austria for the third leg in Innsbruck on January 3 and the final leg in Bischofshofen on January 7 -- which happens to be Schlierenzauer's 17th birthday.



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