SOCHI, Russia, Feb. 14 (UPI) -- Michael Hayboeck of Austria turned in the best performance Friday in qualifying for Saturday's Olympic large hill ski jumping final.
Hayboeck jumped 131 meters, but the medals are expected to come from the 10 jumpers who earned a bye into the finals.
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That group includes Kamil Stoch of Poland, winner of the normal hill event held earlier in the Olympics.
Most of those who were prequalified took a practice jump anyway, including four-time Olympic champion Simon Ammann of Switzerland. Ammann, who finished far out of medal contention on the normal hill, had a jump of just 123.5 meters on Friday.
Stoch chose not to jump during the qualifying session.
