Kobayashi claims comeback win at Lillehammer World Cup

Nov 23, 2025·Ski Jumping

Ryoyu Kobayashi had to wait until February for his first World Cup victory last season - FIS/ActionPress/Julia Piatkowska

Olympic gold medallist Ryoyu Kobayashi (JPN) delivered a true champions performance to claim his first win of the 2025/26 campaign as winter truly arrived, with heavy snowfall, during the final event of the FIS Ski Jumping season-opener in Lillehammer (NOR).

World champion Domen Prevc (SLO) had held a slender advantage over his rival after a high-class opening round, but despite an impressive final jump Kobayashi was a class apart.

It continued an astounding run of form from Japanese athletes in Norway, with the nation claiming victory in the season-opening Mixed Team event on Friday, before Nozomi Maruyama’s World Cup double in the women’s side of the sport.

Kobayashi would top the standings with 290.5 points, while Prevc (287.3pts) was second and Felix Hoffmann (GER) completed the podium line-up with 286.2pts, securing his first-ever individual World Cup honor.

2024/25 overall World Cup runner-up Jan Hoerl (AUT) has been backed by many close to the sport to claim his first Crystal Globe title this season and the six-time World championship medalist topped the standings during the qualification round.

141.5m was the target for those at the top end of the sport when the main competition began, but deteriorating conditions meant it would be far from straight forward.

Even Hoerl himself was unable to match the levels found just hours earlier, with 136.5m and a score of 142.2 points putting him seventh at the halfway stage.

There would be just 5.7pts between him and the leader at the end of the round though, with team-mate Stefan Kraft (AUT) marginally ahead in sixth.

Somewhat surprisingly, that group did not include 2024/25 Crystal Globe winner and Saturday’s World Cup winner Daniel Tschofenig (AUT), whose effort of 129.5m ranked him 12^th.

As such, not only was a new winner expected, but potentially an entirely new-look podium with Hoerl and Kraft, who had placed second and third respectively on Saturday, far from guaranteed top-three finishes.

Felix Hoffmann (GER) was in third at the halfway stage of the first World Cup on Saturday, but feel down the rankings following an underwhelming jump in round two.

Here, he again made a strong start, with a jump of 139m scoring 143.8pts and nestling him in just behind countryman Philipp Raimund (GER).

Felix Hoffmann had achieved a career best performance on Saturday, when he placed 10th - FIS/ActionPress/Julia Piatkowska

World champion Domen Prevc (SLO) was blown left and right by swirling winds after his take-off, but he still managed to not only hit 140m, but achieve a commanding score of 147.9 points.

That put him 3.5pts ahead of second-placed Olympic gold medallist Ryoyu Kobayashi (JPN) as heavy snowfall arrived for the start of the final round of jumps.

Tschofenig (AUT) made the greatest progress and celebrated his 137.5m jump, which scored 142.1pts and that helped him ultimately climb five placed to rank seventh.

Countryman Hoerl was unable to make his own comeback and would finish eighth, while Kraft looked happy with his final effort, but would not be enough to challenge for a medal.

That would be decided by Hoffmann, Raimund, Kobayashi, Prevc in a dramatic finale.

Hoffmann ensured a best-ever result by going top with three athletes to follow and after Raimund narrowly failed to better his team-mate’s score, it ensured the young Germany would claim his first-ever individual World Cup podium place.

Conditions continued to deteriorate, with the snowblowers doing their best to keep the inrun as clear as possible, but that only made Kobayashi’s final jump all the more impressive.

139.5m and a score of 146.1pts left Prevc needing to better the highest scoring jump he landed in round one.

A grimace and shake of the head after landing suggested he did not think he had done quite enough with a 139m and it was soon confirmed that the victory would go to Kobayashi, who ensured his nation won four of the five events during the Lillehammer World Cup.