Johansson was saved by a safety harness: – It could have been really bad
For the first time in a month and a half, Robert Johansson returned to compete at Friday’s opening of Raw Air in Holmenkollen.
However, qualifying didn’t go the way Johansson would have liked, when she clearly got in big trouble from the edge of her jump and landed 90 meters after a turbulent hover.
– We got our hearts in our throats there. What happened?
– I understand too. The clip fell as soon as I left the edge of the jump. Then I just held on to the safety harness, plain and simple, he told NRK.
In the WC in Planica, something similar happened to Peter Prevc. Then he didn’t have a safety harness and ended up falling badly.
– You quickly think about what happened to Prevc. I was quickly asked if I had a seat belt and if that was what saved me. And it happened. Here you can see why people should jump on it, says Johansson.
– What comes to your mind when something like this happens?
– I just try to be present enough to keep my balance. So you don’t panic. Tighten your body and try to control where the skis want to go. I think I did pretty well, as I was driving past the drop mark. I might be able to exercise some good body control, at least, says Johansson.
It is not mandatory to use a safety rope. Johansson believes that it should be.
– It could get really bad, he said of Friday’s jump.
Race director Sandro Pertile said they may now place orders for next season.
– This is a great example, when compared to Prevc in Planica, of possible solutions, he said.
The qualification was won by Poland’s Dawid Kubacki. Halvor Egner Granerud was the best Norwegian in fifth place, 6.6 points behind Kubacki. Johansson is the only one of seven Norwegian jumpers not to qualify for this weekend’s race.
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