With two weeks to go to the World Nordic Championships, there are two more stops on the FIS Ski Jumping World Cup tour, starting this week in Lahti (FIN) for the men and Ljubno (SLO) for the women.
The men’s program includes a team and individual event from a 130 m hill, with all eyes on Japan’s wunderkind, Ryoyu Kobayashi. He’s leading the seasonal standings by 1,380-929-917 over veteran champions Kamil Stoch (POL) and Stefan Kraft (AUT).
Kobayashi’s amazing season includes 10 wins in the 19 competitions held so far, plus three bronze medals. While Stoch has been strong all season as well, Kraft has been on fire, with three wins and five medals in the last seven events to move into third place.
The women’s jumping in Ljubno (SLO) will be off of a 94 m hill, with individual competitions on Friday and Sunday and a team event on Saturday.
Norway’s reigning World Cup champ, Maren Lundby (NOR) has taken over the seasonal lead and looks to extend her five-meet winning streak (and has won six of the last seven events). She now has a 988-867 lead over Katharina Althaus (GER), but there are 11 competitions remaining.
Lundby won six in a row last season, including the first event at Ljubno; Austria’s Daniela Iraschko-Stolz won the second, with Lundby second and Althaus third.
Look for results from both events here.