On Wednesday, Japan’s Ryoyu Kobayashi achieved a remarkable feat by setting an unofficial world record for the longest ski jump in history. During the event organized by Red Bull, Kobayashi successfully landed on a special hill set up on a slope in Akureyri, Iceland. The individual normal hill gold medalist at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, Kobayashi had long expressed his dream of pushing the boundaries of ski jumping and achieving a distance of 300 meters.
Kobayashi described his experience as a dream come true and a goal he had always aspired to achieve. Although the International Ski and Snowboard Federation acknowledged Kobayashi’s jump on its website, they emphasized that it was not performed under the official conditions required to be recognized as an official world record. However, this achievement marks a significant milestone in the world of ski jumping and demonstrates Kobayashi’s dedication to pushing the limits of the sport.
The current official ski jumping distance world record of 253.5 meters is held by Stefan Kraft of Austria, who achieved it in Vikersund, Norway in 2017. Despite not being able to claim this achievement as an official world record, Kobayashi’s unofficial distance of 291 meters is still an impressive accomplishment that speaks to his talent and determination as a skier.