Takanashi warms up with Juniors win

Olympic favourite Sara Takanashi warmed up for Sochi in superb style by winning gold in Val di Fiemme (ITA) at Tuesday’s Junior World Ski Championships.

The Japanese ski jumper, who is just 17, eased to the top of the podium with two 100.5 metre jumps, eventually finishing with 262.9 points. That saw her 14.2 points ahead of France’s Coline Mattel and 16.7 ahead of third-place Maren Lundby (NOR). Another Japanese youngster, Yuki Ito, finished in fourth place.

After claiming her third gold at this level, Takanashi said: “I'm very happy about my result. There was nothing to improve on the performance side today. This is an excellent preparation for the Olympic Games in Sochi.”

Takanashi’s victory in Italy came as little surprise, as she is enjoying a remarkable season at senior level. She currently sits on 1,020 points at the top of the Ski Jumping World Cup leaderboard, 354 points ahead of Germany’s Carina Vogt.

The Japanese youngster has now secured 11 consecutive World Cup podiums, finishing first on eight of those occasions, and looks very much to be the woman to beat when the Olympic Winter Games commence in February.

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