Eternal Kasai qualifies for Sapporo ski jumping World Cup at age 51

Japanese ski jumping legend Noriaki Kasai will return to World Cup action on Saturday at the home event in Sapporo, at the age of 51 and and more than 35 years after making his debut on the same hill.

The 1992 ski flying world champion Kasai qualified on Friday in 45th place for the large hill event with 50 starters, soaring 106 metres. Qualifying was won by Austrian Manuel Fettner.

Kasai has not competed in the World Cup since 2020 when he finished 36th at the Sapporo venue. He returned there last year but narrowly failed to qualify for the two events in 51st and 56th place, respectively.

Kasai made his World Cup debut in Sapporo in December 1988 at age 16, finishing 31st.

He has set many age and longevity records during his career spanning 569 World Cup events over 31 seasons. He won 17 competitions, the last one at age 42 in 2014. His final podium was at age 44 in 2017.

The veteran has jumped in 13 Nordic world championships and at eight Olympics between 1989 and 2018, winning a combined four silvers and six bronze medals.

Kasai has only been competing in Japan in domestic events and on the second tier Continental Cup in recent years, finishing ninth in Sapporo last month.