Sara Did It Again: Women's World Cup Ski Jump

Don't say "not again" because she did it again. Japan's Sara Takanashi outflew her opponents in the World Cup Women's Ski Jump in Finland, February 19, 96.50m and 99.50, half a meter short of the hill size, to a total of 251.3 points.

She had won 12 matches to grab the title. Her overall score stands at 1410 points at 12th match. Austria's Daniela Iraschko-Stolz is right behind Sara with 979 points who finished 4th that day and can no way overcome Sara in the remaining four matches.

Sara had won the title twice previously, in 2012 and 2013 in a row, and this is her third victory. Her comrades Yuki Ito, Kaori Iwabuchi and Yuka Seto placed 3rd, 6th and 20th, respectively.

Sara said she had put in lots of time and effort since summer on just to prepare for this time. In the post-match interview Sara commented:

"The weather was bad yesterday and we couldn't practice. But the two test jumps today helped me straighten up . A few more to jump, so I'll make sure to do my best".

Sara Takanashi is 19 years old from Hokkaido. She triumphed in her first World Cup in March, 2012, at age 15 and went on jumping to be the youngest winner in the World Cup the following year. Under tension too much for a girl of her age, Sara missed the gold medal everybody had anticipated she would win in the Sochi Olympics in 2014.

Sara has made a clean start this season by winning the opening match. She lost the second but won the third match and on she went winning 10 jumps in a row to mark a new winning streak record.

Sara is a steady jumper with an effortless form to bring out momentum. On top of all that, she had trained her trunk throughout the summer season to help steady her midair posture and to sustain her strength to telemark on landing. Sara Takanashi is now a jumper in a world of her own.

No wonder then her foreign competitors branded her "android”. Well said.