Sara Takanashi won also the second competition in Sapporo. Coline Mattel and Irina Avvakumova took places two and three.
Japan’s Sara Takanashi simply seems to be unstoppable at the moment. After winning already on the day before, she was also victorious in the second World Cup competition in Sapporo on Sunday. She set the base for her seventh win of this winter with a nice 97.0 meter jump in the first round. In the second round she jumped 91,0 meters with a by two gates shortened inrun and so scored in total 237.1 points – 17.3 more as Coline Mattel from France who made a pair of jumps of 90.0 and 91.0 meters and so made it to the podium for the first time this winter. Russia’s Irina Avvakumova once more performed solidly and took the third place with jumps of 91.0 and 87.5 meters.
Canada’s Atsuko Tanaka came fourth with jumps of 85.0 and 91.5 meters, that’s her best World Cup finish so far. Lindsey Van from America was only 14th after the first round, when she jumped 83.5 meters. By jumping 93.0 in the second she eventually improved to the fifth place. Maja Vtic from Slovenia came sixth with jumps of 91.5 and 90.5 meters. With Jessica Jerome (86.0 and 90.5 m) another American came seventh. Yuki Ito from Japan was second after the first round, when she jumped 90.5 meters, but by jumping only 81.0 meters in the second round, she fell eventually back to the eight place.
Carina Vogt from Germany, who came second in the last three competitions, took only the 13th place today. She fell when landing her first round jump of 90.0 meters and so had no chance for a better result, although her second jump of 89.5 meters was again a very nice one. Nevertheless two other German jumpers made it to the top ten today, as Katharina Althaus (91.5 and 84.0 m) and Ulrike Grässler (84.0 and 90.0 m) took places nine and ten.
Takanashi has now 660 points in the overall World Cup. Avvakumova regained the second place in this ranking and has 435 points, Vogt is third with a score of 406 points.
The athletes will stay in Japan the next week, as the World Cup continues next weekend in Zao, Yamagata.
RESULTS AND STANDINGS:
Results after the 1st round »
Final results of the competition »
Current overall World Cup standings »