CHAIKOVSKY, Russia (AP) — Sara Takanashi of Japan extended her domination of the women’s ski jump World Cup on Friday by earning her fourth straight victory to start the season, underlining her status as the overwhelming favorite for the Sochi Olympics.
Takanashi landed jumps of 99 and 96.5 meters for a total of 232.6 points at the night event in Russia, where she hopes to become the sport’s first female Olympic champion next month when women’s ski jumping makes its debut in Sochi.
So far, she has been unbeatable this season — although Carina Vogt of Germany came close on Friday. Vogt had longer jumps in both rounds but received lower marks from the judges to finish 0.9 points behind in second place. Irina Avvakumova of Russia was third, 7.4 points behind.
