Two golds and a record for Kazakhstan at Czech ski-jumping tournament

Kazakhstan’s Danil Vassilyev set a new hill record with a 109-meter jump as he and fellow Kazakh jumper Ilya Mizernykh collected two gold medals at a tournament in the Czech Republic.

Vassilyev won the opening event with 258.4 points over two rounds, finishing ahead of Austria’s Jakob Steinberger on 236.6 and Poland’s Jan Galica on 236.3. Mizernykh placed fourth with 231.3 points.

The Kazakh pair both reached the podium on the second day. Mizernykh took gold with 267.4 points, while Vassilyev finished second on 259.8. Steinberger claimed bronze with 244.5 points.

Vassilyev said he had learned from his father that the hill record stood at 107 meters. “I woke up this morning and called my dad. He told me the record here was 107 meters. I told him I’d set a new one, and that’s exactly what happened. The jumps were good, the hill was great, and the wind was perfect,” he said.

Both athletes have represented Kazakhstan at the Beijing Winter Olympics. Mizernykh recently achieved the country’s best-ever Olympic result in ski jumping by finishing eighth.

“

I woke up this morning and called my dad. He told me the record here was 107 meters. I told him I’d set a new one, and that’s exactly what happened. The jumps were good, the hill was great, and the wind was perfect.