Japan’s Yuki Ito claimed victory in the first women’s competition at the International Ski Federation (FIS) Ski Jumping World Cup today, but a second place finish was enough for compatriot Sara Takanashi to seal the overall series win.
Takanashi had produced the best jump during the opening round of the World Cup event, which is doubling as a test event for the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics.
The Japanese star achieved a distance of 97.5 meters, which saw her rewarded with a tally of 123.9 points at the halfway stage of the event.
She was closely followed by Ito and Germany’s Romana Straub, who boasted totals of 118.1 and 114.0 respectively.
Takanashi would be unable to back up her opening round effort with an equally strong second jump, as her 94m effort only scored 101 points.
It was the fifth furthest jump of the round, with Ito managing a huge 101.5m to end the competition with a winning total of 234.4.
The podium would be completed by Takanashi and Slovenia’s Ema Klinec, with the duo ending with totals of 224.9 and 218.7 points respectively.
Takanashi’s second place on the day would see her confirmed as the World Cup winner for the fourth time, as she moved onto 1,275 points.
Second placed Ito is 247 behind, but with only two competitions left in the season, she can no longer catch her compatriot.
“It’s really nice that the overall World Cup was already decided today,” said Takanashi.
“In the first round I had a good jump, in the second round I was late at the take-off.
“The wind conditions were okay for me, I had no problems.”
The second women’s competition is due to take place tomorrow, while the first men’s event is scheduled to be held this evening.
By Michael Pavitt
Republished with permission from insidethegames.biz.