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Ryoyu Kobayashi Leaps to 1st World Cup Win of Season

AP
Japan’s Ryoyu Kobayashi competes at the Large Hill HS134 Ski Jumping World Cup event in Wisla, Poland, Sunday, Jan. 14, 2024.

The Japan News

13:32 JST, January 15, 2024

Ryoyu Kobayashi followed up his overall victory at ski jumping’s prestigious Four Hills Tournament by capturing his first World Cup title of the season with a dramatic victory Sunday on the large hill in Wisla, Poland.

Kobayashi was fifth after the first round with a jump of 131.0 meters before uncorking a massive leap of 139.5 on his second attempt to finish with 269.4 points, 5.1 ahead of Austria’s Stefan Kraft in the 13th meet of the season. Germany’s Andreas Wellinger was third, 7.0 points behind Kobayashi.

It was the Japanese star’s 31st career title and came a week after he won the Four Hills for the third time, in which he finished second in all four meets held between Dec. 28 and Jan. 6.

Kraft’s second place was the 108th podium finish of his career, tying him for most on the all-time list with retired great Janne Ahonen, according to the FIS website.