Ryoyu Kobayashi Wins Normal Hill Competition At Olympics

Feb 6, 2022, 6:13 AM | Updated: 6:22 am

Ryoyu Kobayashi of Team Japan jumps during Men's Normal Hill Individual First Round at National Ski Jumping Centre on February 06, 2022 in Zhangjiakou, China. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

BY LARRY LAGE, AP

ZHANGJIAKOU, China (AP) — Ryoyu Kobayashi of Japan won the Olympic ski jumping gold medal on the normal hill on Sunday.

Kobayashi jumped last and best, clearing 99.5 meters (326 feet) and had 129.6 points thanks to his graceful style from start to finish.

Manuel Fettner of Austria won silver and Dawid Kubacki of Poland earned bronze.

Two-time ski jumping gold medalist Andreas Wellinger is missing from the Beijing Games because he tested positive for COVID-19 last week, clearing the way for a new champion.

Flying like an eagle! 🦅

Kobayashi Ryoyu (Japan) soars to earn the #Gold medal in #SkiJumping Men's Normal Hill Individual!#Beijing2022 | #StrongerTogether | @Japan_Olympic | @RyoKoba8118 pic.twitter.com/ksrXGsItvd

— Olympics (@Olympics) February 6, 2022

Earlier, Turkish ski jumper Fatih Arda İpcioğlu refused to say if the crescent and star on his blue skis was a statement in support of China’s Uyghur community. The design on the skis used Saturday seemingly represented East Turkestan, the region home to Uyghurs.

“I don’t want to answer about those questions,” İpcioğlu said Sunday after jumping in the first round.

İpcioğlu finished 36th in the 50-jumper field.

Human rights groups say the Beijing government has oppressed members of the Uyghur Muslim minority on a massive scale.

The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics

Just a year after Japan’s summer Olympics, the Games are back for a winter show in Beijing, China. The unusually short gap between Games is due to the ongoing Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Strict precautions and enforced virus prevention protocol are in place to help keep athletes, coaches and personnel safe.

Beijing is the capital of China, with a population of more than 20 million people and the first city to host both a Summer and Winter Olympic games. It is one of the largest cities in the world and 15 hours ahead of Mountain Time. There are 13 different venues in and around Beijing that will be used for the Winter Olympics. A total of 109 events will be held in 15 different sports, and there will be a lot of Utah locals competing for medals. Keep up to date with them at our Olympic headquarters.

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