![]() She holds an unparalleled World Cup record 61 wins. Takanashi had already hinted after the normal hill competition that she “might not have a role to play anymore” at the Olympics, which have not been particularly kind to her compared to her success elsewhere. Not surprisingly, the controversy touched off a fury on social media with Takanashi’s legions of fans expressing their support and dismay on various platforms. If Takanashi were not disqualified and her 124.5 points from her first jump counted, Japan’s total would have been 960.8 putting the team in second place behind gold-medal winner Slovenia. According to a report in The Asahi Shimbun a Japanese staffer took the blame, saying, “it’s a checking failure on our end.” While some speculated that she lost weight in between competitions that seems unlikely. Takanashi wore the same suit in the women’s normal hill competition two days previous when she finished fourth. Takanashi’s teammates did their best to erase the deficit from the first round but came up just short as Japan finished fourth, narrowly losing out to Canada for the bronze. Knowing of the predicament she had put her team in, through no fault of her own, Takanashi valiantly produced a leap of 98.5 meters in the second round and then was overcome with emotion at the bottom of the hill. ![]() Takanashi reportedly broke down crying as she learned the high marks she received for her first jump would be thrown out.Īs a result of her DQ, Japan barely qualified for the second round of the competition, placing eighth among the 10 teams. In addition to the pain of missing out on the podium in the normal hill event even though she was a clear medal favorite, Takanashi now had to deal with the fallout from the disqualification. Veterans Daniela Iraschko-Stolz of Austria, Katharina Althaus of Germany and Norwegians Anna Odine Stroem and Silje Opseth were also disqualified for the same reason.īut it was especially heartbreaking in the case of Takanashi. Takanashi’s suit was deemed two centimeters larger than legal in the thigh area.Īnd Takanashi wasn’t the only one. ![]() Under the rules, jumpers are required to wear a suit that fits snugly to prevent the surface area from expanding and providing an aerodynamic lift. Sara Takanashi competes in the mixed team ski jumping event at the Beijing Olympics on February 7.Midway through the first round of jumps, word came that the 25-year-old Takanashi had been disqualified because her suit was not compliant with the rules. Two women and two men jump with their scores combined. ![]() The mixed team event is a new competition in the Olympics. Looking for redemption after finishing fourth in the women’s normal hill on Saturday, Takanashi got off to a flying start in the mixed team event by producing a strong first jump of 103 meters. It all started in the mixed team ski jumping event on Monday, February 7. The soft-spoken, humble Takanashi is the last person one would expect to be involved in a controversy of any sort. This time it just happened to involve one of Japan’s top athletes, ski jumper Sara Takanashi. Every Olympics has its share of controversy and Beijing 2022 is no different. ![]()
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