All eyes on Kobayashi Ryoyu ahead of Four Hills Tournament 2022/23
The defending champion is one of only three to have completed the Grand Slam and won Beijing 2022 gold medallist but has had a podium-less ski jumping season. Could the 2022/23 event produce the turnaround for the Japanese star?
Ski Jumping
There are pros and cons to success. Kobayashi Ryoyu might be dealing with more of the latter at the moment.
After a banner season that saw him win an Olympic ski jumping gold in Beijing and his second overall FIS World Cup men's title, Kobayashi’s career took off like one of his big jumps.
The awards. The exposure. The money. The hobnobbing with celebrities. Kobayashi became a face for Japanese winter athletes along the likes of fellow ski jumper Takanashi Sara, snowboard star Hirano Ayumu, Nordic combined’s Watabe Akito and figure skating’s Hanyu Yuzuru.
The 26-year-old Kobayashi is on a mission to make ski jumping more popular and has certainly done his part, on and off the field of play. He wants to rewrite Peter Prevc’s single-season World Cup record of 15 wins.
“I’m definitely getting more attention than I used to”, Kobayashi said before the 2022-23 campaign got under way. “I hope I can keep the momentum going”.
But the fruits of Kobayashi’s labour may have come at a cost - that being time, namely.
With everyone wanting a piece of Kobayashi, he was unable to train at the rate he has in the past. In the summers prior to Beijing 2022, he was getting in around 300 jumps. This summer, it was down to 100.
If practice does make perfect, Kobayashi can hardly argue. He has yet to reach the podium during the ongoing season, and has not finished higher than seventh place. In the most recent competition in Engelberg, Switzerland, he could not advance to the second attempt for the second time this season.
“Last season, I thought I did really well so I want more of the same for the new season. I didn’t really work on anything particular over the summer.
“This past summer, I didn’t jump as much as I did in the past so I’m not there yet. Hopefully, I can get it to where I need it to be by the winter. I want to win the overall title again this season”.
Without question, Kobayashi is in select company. He is one of only three jumpers to have swept the Four Hills Tournament, doing so in 2018-19, and nearly accomplished the historic 'grand slam' for a second time last season - but finished fifth in the last of the four events, in Bischofshofen, Austria.
As the Four Hills starts up again on Thursday (29 December) in Oberstdorf, Germany, Kobayashi may not be in the best of form. But what should keep him sane under the gaze of a world is his laid-back persona. Not to mention the talent which has netted him 27 World Cup victories, more than any other Japanese male.
“It’s important for me to not try too hard. That’s key”, Kobayashi said. “I try not to expect too much out of myself in terms of results.
“I want to genuinely enjoy jumping”.