Japan's ski jumping stars celebrate. © APA/afp / GEIR OLSEN

Ski jumping: The first win of the season goes to Japan

Japan got off to a perfect start in the new World Cup season, winning the mixed event in Lillehammer with ease.

21 November 2025

From: sn

The team of Nozomi Maruyama, Ren Nikaido, Yuki Ito, and Ryoyu Kobayashi impressed with consistently strong performances and built an early lead that their competitors were unable to overcome. Particularly noteworthy: Ito was also part of the Japanese mixed team that last won the title over a decade ago.

A minor mistake in Maruyama's second jump prevented an even greater gap, but Japan still remained clearly ahead of Slovenia. Austria, thanks to improving form throughout the competition, fought its way to third place.

Germany and Norway finished in fourth and fifth place respectively, while Italy (with Alex Insam from Val Gardena) came in tenth. The first individual competitions are scheduled for Saturday in Lillehammer.