The German, who is someway adrift of the leaders in the race for the overall title as he sits in sixth place, jumped 132.5 metres to earn a total of 140.5 points.

Peter Prevc of Slovenia, who has endured a miserable defence of his World Cup crown this season, managed to claim second place as he leapt 130.5m.

His effort yielded 135.9 and was enough for him to finish behind Wellinger in the qualification standings.

Wellinger's team-mate Richard Freitag also impressed with a jump of 128m, which was rewarded with a score of 131.8.

Poland's Kamil Stoch is the current overall leader on 1,280 points, just 60 clear of Austrian Stefan Kraft, who recently claimed double gold at the FIS Nordic Ski World Championships.

The team event is scheduled for tomorrow before the main competition of the weekend takes place on Sunday (March 12).

A women's event is also planned for Sunday.

Austria's Daniela Iraschko-Stolz has had to withdraw through injury, which leaves a battle between Germany's world and Olympic champion Carina Vogt and Japan's World Cup winner Sara Takanashi on the famous Holmenkollen hill.

The Olympic silver medallist suffered a cartilage injury during training and has been forced to end her season prematurely.