Four Hills Ski Jumping - Ryoyu Kobayashi takes victory in Bischofshofen to keep Grand Slam hopes alive

ByHarry Latham Coyle

Updated 05/01/2022 at 18:32 GMT

After high winds forced the postponement of the planned Innsbruck event yesterday, the third event of the 2021-22 Four Hills was held in Bischofshofen, which will also host Thursday's decider. Ryoyu Kobayashi trailed Marius Lindvik of Norway after the first jump, but produced a fine final showing to snatch victory and tee up a chance at history.

Ryoyu Kobayashi kept his hopes of a remarkable second Four Hills Grand Slam alive with victory at the rescheduled Innsbruck event in Bischofshofen.

High winds in Austria forced the third event in the famous ski jumping event to be delayed from Tuesday to Wednesday, and moved from its original location.

Kobayashi had been in second entering the second round of jumps, but produced an outstanding, technically supreme jump of 137.5m, drawing four marks in the 19's (out of a possible 20) from the judges.

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Kobayashi relishing shot at second Four Hills Grand Slam

He will have the chance to become the first man in history to secure two Grand Slams at the Four Hills Tournament on the same hill tomorrow, with the traditional deciding jumps still scheduled for Bischofshofen.

Kobayashi has a lead of approximately 10 metres (17.9 points) to Marius Lindvik, who had the chance to seal victory with his final leap but was scored more conservatively, and could only finish second.

"I was very, very nervous, but I am happy," Kobayashi told Eurosport.

"[Marius Lindvik] was really good - that's why I was so nervous!

"I have not thought about [a second Grand Slam] before, but this is a chance. Maybe I'll think about it..."

The Japenese ski jumper also secured four successive victories in 2018-19; Kamil Stoch had similarly secured a Grand Slam a year prior, while Sven Hannawald of Germany was the first to achieve the feat in 2001-02.

Kobayashi had edged out Markus Eisenbichler by just 0.2 of a point in Garmisch-Partenkirchen on New Year's Day after a more comfortable victory in Oberstdorf kicked off the Four Hills campaign.

Kobayashi snatches narrow win from Eisenbichler

Conditions in Bischofshofen were far from ideal, with sustained snow fall and not insignificant swirling winds, and no spectators permitted alongside the Paul Ausserleitner Hill.

Norway's Lindvik had the better of things after the first jump, his 137.5 well-liked by the judges and earning him the final jump of the day.

Kobayashi (137m) trailed by nearly six points but held his nerve on the second leap, registering the longest jump of the final set of competitors to keep his hopes of history alive.

Lindvik's team-mate Halvor Egner Granerud completed the podium with equal leaps of 135.5m.

Four Austrians populated the top 11 finishers but were unable to figure prominently on familiar terrain, Jan Hoerl and Manuel Fettner sharing fifth place as the best of the home jumpers.

Three-time Olympic champion Stoch withdrew after missing out on qualification for the third event of this season's Four Hills in a blow to his hopes of another Olympic medal at Beijing 2022.

Stoch had taken victory on this hill thrice previously.

Kobayashi now leads Karl Geiger of Germany, fourth in Bischofshofen, by 71 points in the World Cup standings.

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