Even at over 50, Noriaki Kasai is still working on his fitness.
Photo: imago/Jürgen Feichter
On December 17, 1988, Noriaki Kasai made his World Cup debut in Sapporo. At that time, a wall still separated the two German states. Helmut Kohl was Chancellor and Franz Beckenbauer was national football coach. The two legends have since passed away. But Noriaki Kasai still does what he did best 35 years ago: ski jumping.
On Friday, the eternal flyer sensationally qualified for the World Cup jumping this Saturday. Quite fitting in Sapporo, where it all began for him. A rather modest 106 meters and 45th place were enough – a good distance away from the top distance (136.50 meters) of the Austrian Manuel Fettner. Nevertheless, he was assured of the appreciation of all his colleagues. Finally, Kasai left Springer behind, who could easily be his children. The 17-year-old American Jason Colby (47) could almost pass for a grandson.
»I think everyone is waiting for me and I want to live up to their expectations. “It will be such a pressure for me, as if it were a matter of victory,” Kasai had explained before his start, which was eagerly awaited by the Japanese public. He withstood the pressure and will be able to make his World Cup comeback on Saturday four years after his last appearance among the best flyers in the world. At the proud age of 51! Of course, no ski jumper has achieved this before him – just like his 570th World Cup appearance is also an incredible record from the Guinness Book. “I’ve probably flown around the world at least once in my career,” Kasai once said with his typical mischievous smile. And that’s probably an understatement.
“It’s really crazy what Noriaki is doing,” explained former national coach Werner Schuster on the Eurosport microphone this Friday after Kasai’s qualifying jump. »I really had to laugh. I jumped against him myself, and he just competed against my son in the Continental Cup. He jumps across generations.« When the Japanese flying artist was crowned ski flying world champion in 1992, Andreas Wellinger (28) was not even born yet.
Noriaki Kasai is a phenomenon, a ski jumping madman who just can’t give up the sport he loves. When his unique career really began with his World Cup premiere in 1988, he was still jumping in the parallel style. The protagonists back then were called Jens Weißflog or Matti Nykänen. Kasai once received a jumpsuit as a gift from the legendary Finn. Nykänen, who became a convicted violent criminal after his drug-intoxicated career, is now dead. But Kasai, who was once disrespectfully called a pterodactyl, just keeps going
Most recently he offered himself for a comeback in the second-class Continental Cup – with success. Of course, his famous name also helped him, because Noriaki Kasai is (not only) an absolute legend in his homeland. Even if the last of his 17 World Cup victories was almost ten years ago. On November 29, 2014, he triumphed together with Olympic champion Simon Ammann, who had the same number of points. The Swiss is still flying and recently competed in his 500th World Cup, but at 42 he is practically a youngster compared to Kasai.
The Japanese was 42 years and 176 days old when he last won, making him by far the oldest World Cup triumph in ski jumping history. Of course, with silver and bronze at the 2014 Winter Games, he is also the oldest Olympic medalist of all time in ski jumping. In 2018 in Pyeongchang, he became the first winter athlete in history to take part in the games for the eighth time.
“Noriaki is the seventh wonder of the world,” Austria’s ski jumping legend Toni Innauer once said. Kasai cites “good genes” and a “healthy Japanese diet” as the reasons for his “eternal ski jumping youth.” But even the man who is celebrated by fans worldwide cannot break the biological laws of aging forever. He now has great difficulty squatting in the inrun lane because his joints hurt. That’s why he doesn’t want to give up: “I feel good physically and I’m continuing to fight. I want to be at the Olympics again in 2026.” In addition, one of his goals is to inspire others, as he once revealed to the “world”. »When I jump, I can show what is possible and give people the courage to believe in their dreams. I can live a little bit of her own dream.«
Part of the truth is also that ski jumping is still a good way for Kasai to make a living. He is employed by the Tsuchiya team at the construction company of the same name and is paid handsomely for his perseverance. He is now also a kind of sports director there and accompanied the rise of the new Japanese high-flyer Ryoyu Kobayashi until his recent departure from the team with valuable tips. Kasai is now a father twice with his wife Reina. Maybe at some point the eternal flyer will simply pass the baton directly to his children.
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