Stefan Kraft topped qualification on day one of the Ski Jumping World Cup in Oberstdorf ©Getty Images

Stefan Kraft has topped qualification on the first day of the International Ski Federation (FIS) Ski Jumping World Cup in Oberstdorf.

The Austrian, who was part of the large hill gold medal winning team during Beijing 2022, is seeking to rise in the men’s overall rankings from his current sixth position and to build on his triumphs in Klingenthal, Lahti and Lillehammer earlier this season.

He was judged better than the rest after scoring 230.7 points from a jump that recorded a speed of 104.6 kilometres per hour and covered 225.5 metres.

Slovakia’s Anže Lanišek was second best to Kraft with a total of 219.4 points.

Stefan Kraft won gold in the men's large hill team event at beijing 2022 ©Getty Images
Stefan Kraft won gold in the men's large hill team event at beijing 2022 ©Getty Images

The 2021 World Championships ski jumping bronze medallist was slightly slower and landed shorter than his competitor, with a speed of 103.7km/h and a distance of 221.5m.

In third place was Norway’s Bendik Jakobsen Heggli who received a score of 215.9 after recording a speed of 103.8km/h and covering 226m.

Norway’s Marius Lindvik, one of the pre-tournament favourites, finished fifth on 214.0 – just 0.5 points behind German Karl Geiger in fourth.

The start list for the first of two scheduled World Cup events tomorrow is set to see 40 skiers line up on the slope - a drop from the 65 that skied today.