Jan 21 (Reuters) - Austria's Lisa Eder secured her first career ski jumping World Cup victory on Wednesday, edging out double world champion Nika Prevc at the final event in Zao, Japan.
Eder finished second in Tuesday's opening contest behind Japan's Nozomi Maruyama, who claimed her sixth ski jumping World Cup event, but started strong in Wednesday's final.
The 24-year-old held a 3.4-point lead over Prevc after the opening round and delivered a 98-metre jump in the closing stages, securing an overall 227.9 points to claim the title.
Prevc came second with 226.5 points, while Canada's Abigail Strate rounded out the podium with 222.3 points.
"There are so many people I would like to thank, my family, coaches and the whole team," said Eder.
"My training jump yesterday was not good and then every jump became better, but I still don't know how it (the win) happened!"
Eder now ranks third in the overall World Cup standings, trailing behind Prevc and Maruyama.
Maruyama, who claimed her first World Cup win in November, delivered a strong performance on home turf, winning Tuesday's opening round with 222.5 points at Aliontek Zao Schanze.
(Reporting by Suramya Kaushik in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris)
