Winter Olympics star’s statement after ban over ‘stupid’ call | Other | Sport
Austrian ski jumper Daniel Tschofenig has lamented his ‘stupid’ decision after being disqualified for the Winter Olympics final. The 23-year-old was banned from competing in the men’s large hill individual event final due to his shoes being too big.
Tschofenig comfortably qualified for Saturday’s final by recording a score of 137.7, and was one of the athletes tipped for a podium finish. However, his event was cut short after it was discovered that his shoes were four millimetres over the limit.
The Austrian has since given his reaction and taken responsibility for the error. Speaking to Austrian broadcaster ORF, he said: “I was surprised.
“I wore a new shoe during training, and wasn’t actually that happy with it, but I stuck with it.
“Unfortunately, I was naive and didn’t measure it. Extremely stupid of me, there was just so much stress going on. But rules are rules.”
Tschofenig was replaced in the final by Slovenia’s Hektor Kapustik. Reporting the news, TNT Sports commentator Ian Findlay said: “Hang on folks, there are some changes here. “We’re just getting news that there has been a disqualification for Daniel Tschofenig.
“The big news just after the first round, Tschofenig, disqualified due to boot size, four millimetres over.
“He is out of the competition, the first disqualification we’ve had at these Olympic Games in ski jumping and it meant Hector Kapustik gets in.”
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Former Slovenian ski jumper Ernej Damjan added: “It’s big news.
“Daniel Tschofenig out and Hektor Kapustik in, which is good for Slovakia. Tschofenig finally finding something extra and when he does, he gets kicked out.”
He added: “There was a huge improvement compared to training and he found something even more in this first round. He was in eighth place before this disqualification which was not a bad position to be in, he still had a chance to attack.”
In the final, the gold medal was won by Domen Prevc of Slovenia. Ren Nikaido of Japan won silver, Kacper Tomasiak of Poland won bronze.
