OBERSTDORF, Germany: Ryoyu Kobayashi became the first Japanese man in more than 20 years to win the opening leg of the Four Hills ski jumping competition in Oberstdorf, Germany on Sunday (Dec 30).
He scored a combined 282.3 points after two jumps to beat Germany’s Markus Eisenbacher who finished in second on 281.9 points and Austria’s Stefan Kraft in third with 280.5 points.
The 22-year-old is seeking to become the first Japanese Four Hills overall tournament champion since Kazuyoshi Funaki in 1997/1998 who also won in the German Alps 21 years ago.
However, Kobayashi refused to get carried away despite success in front of more than 25,000 spectators in Bavaria.
“I’m not thinking about the overall title yet, I will take it step by step and now I’m looking forward to jumping in Garmisch-Partenkrichen,” he said.