TOKYO, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Olympic gold medallist Ryoyu Kobayashi has said experience had taught him that ski jumping rarely follows a script as he prepares for his third straight Olympics.
Japan’s Kobayashi will arrive in Italy as the Olympic normal hill champion, having also won large hill silver at the Beijing Games four years ago.
“Ski jumping is a really difficult sport, and there are ups and downs, plus so much depends on the conditions. Winning on points is extremely hard,” the 29-year-old told reporters on Monday ahead of next month's Milano Cortina Winter Games.
“Rather than aiming for that, my goal is to show a big flight on the Olympic stage and get the crowd going. Then naturally it will lead to a medal and then we will see what colour the medal will be. So that’s the mindset I’m going in with.”
Despite his credentials as twice World Cup overall champion and three-times Four Hills Tournament winner, Kobayashi insists his biggest challenge remains internal.
“You really never know what will happen on the day. My biggest rival is really myself and if I can deliver my own performance, or even something better than that, then I think I’ll definitely have a chance for a medal,” he said.
“I try not to worry too much about things like wind or others around me. I just want to focus on putting out my own performance.
"The moment usually when I feel the most nervous is probably right before the second jump starts, when I’m turning around in first place with a win on the line. But I try to focus on performing well and doing what I need to do," he added.
"When the jumper of the second or third place from the first round flies really far and you can hear the huge cheers, it makes me extremely nervous but, at the same time, it’s also exciting.”
Kobayashi also spoke about Japan’s decision to drop Sapporo’s bid to host the 2030 Winter Olympics, calling it a disappointment from an athlete’s perspective.
“When the Games are held in your home country, the footage of the competitions becomes iconic and is passed down as legendary moments,” he said.
“Thinking about how special it would have been to create one of those moments through ski jumping makes me feel a bit sad. As an athlete, I really hope the Olympics could be held in our own country.”
For now, his focus is firmly on Milano Cortina, where he hopes another big jump will bring further success.
(Reporting by Irene Wang in Tokyo, writing by Tommy Lund in Gdansk)
