At the age of 50
Ski jumping legend Kasai makes his comeback
In June, Noriaki Kasai will be 51 years old, but that doesn’t stop the Japanese from returning to the hill. The ski jumping legend wants to start again in Sapporo.
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Noriaki Kasai returns to the ski jump at almost 51 years old.
Noriaki Kasai wants to know again. The Japanese dared to ski again at the age of 50 years and 222 days.
As the Norwegian newspaper “Dagbladet” writes, this will not take place in the World Cup, but this weekend in the Fisin Continental Cup in Sapporo. Kasai completed his last World Cup competition on February 2, 2020 on the Olympic hill from 1972. He took part in the FIS Cup until the beginning of March 2022.
World Cup debut 34 years ago
Sapporo is also where he made his debut on December 17, 1988. A career with numerous successes followed. His greatest is the title at the Ski Flying World Championships in Harrachsdorf (Tsch) in 1992. Two years later he won Olympic silver with the team in Lillehammer. Another Olympic medal followed in Sochi in 2014 with silver on the large hill and bronze again in the team. In addition, two World Cup silver and five World Cup bronze medals hang in his showcase.
In his 569 World Cup competitions, Kasai jumped onto the podium 54 times and was on top 17 times. It was never enough for him to win the overall World Cup, he finished third in 1992/93 and 1998/99. (che)