Kobayashi Ryoyu (2nd R) of Japan celebrates after winning Ski Jumping Men's Normal Hill Individual Final Round at the National Ski Jumping Centre in Zhangjiakou, north China's Hebei Province, Feb. 6, 2022. (Xinhua/Jiang Kehong)
CHONGLI, Zhangjiakou, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Japanese ski jumper Ryoyu Kobayashi won the men's normal hill individual gold medal at Beijing 2022 on Sunday.
Kobayashi, 25, scored 145.4 points in the first round, achieving a 6.2-point lead before his final jump of 99.5 meters to secure the win.
Manuel Fettner of Austria made a 104-meter jump in the final round to grab silver at the National Ski Jumping Center. Poland's Dawid Kubacki came third ahead of fourth-placed Peter Prevc of Slovenia.
Just as in the women's competition, a new Olympic champion had been expected in the men's normal hill individual before the Games, as PyeongChang 2018 gold medalist Andreas Wellinger was not selected for the German team at Beijing 2022 due to a slow start to the 2021-22 season.
Wellinger's fellow German Karl Geiger, this season's World Cup leader, has struggled since the official training at Beijing 2022 and ended the finals 15th with 252.8 points.
Norway's Marius Lindvik and Robert Johansson, both of whom had taken the lead in the qualification round the day before, could not continue their momentum on Sunday and finished seventh and 20th respectively. ■
Dawid Kubacki of Poland competes during Ski Jumping Men's Normal Hill Individual Final Round at the National Ski Jumping Centre in Zhangjiakou, north China's Hebei Province, Feb. 6, 2022. (Xinhua/Jiang Kehong)
Manuel Fettner of Austria competes during Ski Jumping Men's Normal Hill Individual Final Round at the National Ski Jumping Centre in Zhangjiakou, north China's Hebei Province, Feb. 6, 2022. (Xinhua/Zhu Zheng)
Manuel Fettner of Austria competes during Ski Jumping Men's Normal Hill Individual Final Round at the National Ski Jumping Centre in Zhangjiakou, north China's Hebei Province, Feb. 6, 2022. (Xinhua/Zhu Zheng)
Kobayashi Ryoyu of Japan competes during Ski Jumping Men's Normal Hill Individual Final Round at the National Ski Jumping Centre in Zhangjiakou, north China's Hebei Province, Feb. 6, 2022. (Xinhua/Zhu Zheng)
Kobayashi Ryoyu (top) of Japan celebrates after winning Ski Jumping Men's Normal Hill Individual Final Round at the National Ski Jumping Centre in Zhangjiakou, north China's Hebei Province, Feb. 6, 2022. (Xinhua/Jiang Kehong)
