After her name was called during the victory ceremony, Sara Takanashi thrust her arms into the air and, though the mask she was wearing may have hidden her smile, she still conveyed satisfaction in a job well done.
"I was able to give everything I had," Takanashi said after winning the silver medal in the inaugural women's large hill ski jumping event at the Nordic World Ski Championships on Wednesday in Oberstdorf, Germany.
Takanashi, who was fourth after the first round of jumps, soared 134 meters in her second attempt to finish second with 287.9 points and make the podium for a second time. She earlier won the bronze medal in the normal hill event.
Norway's Maren Lundby captured the gold with 296.6 points with jumps of 128 and 130.5 meters, while Slovenia's Nika Kriznar finished just behind Takanashi for the bronze with 287.1 points.
Takanashi, who had a first jump of 126 meters, said her big leap in the second round was her "best jump of the championships." A stable approach and a powerful takeoff were the culmination of recent efforts, and even her midair form "embodied what I had imagined," she said.
The smooth transition from the takeoff to her position in the air, which she had been particularly working on, allowed her to continue to gain distance, eventually landing at the 134-meter mark.
That effort put her temporarily in first place, only to be topped by Lundby with the final jump of the competition.
"I did as much as I could at this point," said Takanashi, who has established herself among the favorites for the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
