TITISEE-NEUSTADT, Germany (AP) Austria's Thomas Morgenstern beat world champion Kamil Stoch of Poland for his first ski jump World Cup win in nearly two years on Saturday.
Morgenstern claimed the lead with a jump of 143.5 meters in the first round and held off Stoch's challenge with a jump of 139.0 in the second for a total of 284.1 points.
"This is a wonderful day for me and I will enjoy it," said Morgenstern after his first individual World Cup win since Bischofshofen, Austria on Jan. 6, 2012. "I don't remember a competition like this one. You can tell that the hill is a bit older and I like that a lot. I really enjoy being here."
Stoch was eighth after a first-round jump of 137.0 but was best in the second round with 141.5. He finished with 280.8 points.
"I think our team is one of the best at the moment and has a chance of a medal in Sochi," Stoch said. "It's still a lot of time until the Olympics and we are now more focused on the competitions before that."
