World Cup leader Freitag absent from final stop of Four Hills Tournament

PARIS, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- Ski jumping World Cup leader Richard Freitag of Germany will not compete in Saturday's final stop of Four Hills Tournament in Bischofshofen, Austria, International Ski Federation (FIS) announced on Friday.

Freitag, who sat atop World Cup leader boards with 711 points, crashed after landing his first jump in Thursday's competition in Innsbruck, Austria. He was later sent to hospital for medical check, and skipped his second jump.

"After another examination this morning, I recommended Richard Freitag not to compete in Bischofshofen. The contusions of the left hip are restricting the mobility significantly and, in addition, they are also very painful.

"Competitive sports on the highest level makes no sense under these circumstances," explained team doctor Mark Dorfmueller on Friday.

Freitag finished runner-up to Poland's Kamil Stoch in both of first two stops of the tournament in Germany. He has lost his chance of becoming the first German to win the title since 2002.

"Right now ski jumping makes no sense for me. Due to the contusions, I can't take the in-run position and I'm also not able to have a dynamic take-off. That's why I'm following the advice of our team doctor and I will take a break now," said Freitag.

"This is the first time that I have to end a Four Hills Tournament early. This is indeed disappointing, but because there is still a lot up for grabs this season, it would not be smart to not listen to your own body", he added.

Stoch, currently leading by 64.5 points over Freitag's compatriot Andreas Wellinger, was quite close to defending his title.

Stoch was also one step away from becoming the second jumper to win all four stops, as German Sven Hannawald did in 2001-2002. Enditem