World
Inclement weather forces Women’s Engelberg World Cup cancellation
The second women’s World Cup in Engelberg, Switzerland, was abandoned after poor weather conditions further deteriorated during the first round of competition on Sunday.
With weather forecasters having predicted significant challenges ahead of the second day, a decision to cancel the women’s qualifying round had already been made late on Saturday.
Nika Prevc (SLO), Katharina Schmid (GER) and Thea Minyan Bjoerseth (NOR) were hoping to build on their respective, first, second and third positions, achieved in the first World Cup.
However, when Sunday morning arrived conditions were even worse than anticipated and when the first of the athletes among the 55-strong female line-up finally took to the hill, they knew it might be their only action of the day.
As such, the podium-seeking ski jumpers were looking for much more than just a place in the top-30, as the fluctuating winds and sporadic snow showers, meant a second round may not materialise.
Given the tricky environment a good portion of the field struggled to match the distances achieved in the opening World Cup of the weekend, on Saturday, with almost half failing to hit the 100m mark.