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Japan’s 41-year-old Noriaki Kasai became the oldest winner in World Cup ski jumping history with victory on the ski-flying hill at Bad Mittendorf yesterday. |
Kasai clinched the win with jumps of 196 and 197 metres to edge Slovenia’s Peter Prevc and Austria’s defending World Cup champion Gregor Schlierenzauer. The previous oldest winner was Kasai’s compatriot Takanobu Okabe in 2009 in Kuopio at the age of 38.
It was a 15th career World Cup win for Kasai but his first since a victory at Park City, Utah in 2004. The event, watched by some 30,000 spectators on the Kulm hill, was overshadowed by the previous day’s training crash by Austrian Thomas Morgenstern, who remained in intensive care in a Salzburg hospital.
Kasai earned 391.6 points for his two jumps to edge Prevc on 381.5 (199/190.5m) and Schlierenzauer on 380.3 (194/194m). Schlierenzauer donned his cap in honour of Kasai’s achievement, and said: “The guy is over 40 - the highest respect. He shows that you can win at an advanced age if you have the right technique.”
Kasai is now fourth overall on 486 points, with Poland’s Kamil Stoch, who finished sixth, still leading the standings on 598, followed by Simon Ammann of Switzerland (558) and Schlierenzauer (536).
Morgenstern meanwhile spent a first night in hospital where he is being treated for head injuries.
Austria media quoted hospital doctor Udo Berger as saying Morgenstern’s condition improved during the night.
Morgenstern, 27, is also being treated for bruising to the lung but doctors say he has not suffered spinal or back injuries.
The three-times Olympic and seven-times world champion also crashed on December 15 during competition at Titisee-Neustadt in Germany.
In other Nordic ski events, Norway claimed a podium clean sweep in the Nordic combined World Cup event in Chaux-Neuve, France where Mikko Kokslien triumphed 0.9 seconds ahead of Magnus Krog.
Joergen Graaback clinched third place for Norway to edge world champion Eric Frenzel of Germany, who had led from the ski-jumping leg. In Nove Mesto, Czech Republic, Kikkan Randall of the United States won a women’s World Cup 1.3km sprint in 2:44.04, 1.69 seconds ahead of Laurien van der Graaff of Switzerland, with Norway’s Ingvild Flugstad Oestberg third.
Norway’s Therese Johaug leads the standings on 1,002 points, ahead of compatriots Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen (841) and Marit Bjorgen (676).
Russia’s Sergey Ustyugov won the men’s 1.6km sprint in 2:54.59, beating Italian Federico Pellegrino by 0.18 seconds, with Russian compatriot Alexey Petyukhov third. Martin Johnsrud Sundby of Norway continues to lead overall on 1,001 points ahead of team-mate Chris Jespersen (739) and Russian Alexander Legkov (526).