Sara Takanashi Did It at Last!

Time and again we have covered Sara Takanashi and her masterful ski jumping in the world cup contests, and now at last we are here to report that she at last marked her 53rd win to top the world in both women's and men's ski jumping. That's quite a feat and Sara knows that herself.

The previous day Sara had failed to mark it by a small margin and February 16 she was determined not to repeat the error she had committed, said she. 

She battled amid a strong wind to mark 99.5 meters in the first jump to finish second. Sara attempted to fly farther in the second but landed at 97 meters to finish first at that stage and awaited Norway's Maren Olstad Lundby who had placed first after the first jump. Lundby jumped no farther than 94 meters to finish third with 210.2. Sara eventually finished first to mark her 53rd win  - the most ever in both men's and women's jumping.

Sara Takanashi commented:

"I'm terribly happy to have marked 53rd win but only with somewhat mixed feelings (coming from behind to win it).

"The condition was awful with shifting winds at all times, but I think I was able to keep myself under control throughout the contest.

"I believe I have cleared my biggest problem of adjusting the approach to help regain confidence."

What is amazing about Sara's feat is that she has marked the record high 53rd win in just 4 years and 11 months - since her junior high day at age 15. In terms of percentage, Takanashi tops with 53 wins in 89 jumps at an astounding percentage of nearly 60 %, followed by Sarah Hendricks with 13 wins -showing how far out of the way Sara Takanashi ranks in women's jumping.

For the sake of comparison, Austria's Gregor Schlierenzauer had marked his 53 wins in men's jumping in 8 years. That's enough to prove how far out Sara Takanashi is flying. (Nathan Shiga) 

Source: NHK