Tour winner Kobayashi with record jump

While other ski jumpers were recovering on vacation after the World Cup, Ryōyū Kobayashi started a record attempt together with his sponsor. Kobayashi wanted to test the limits of what was possible on a specially constructed provisional ski jump in the Icelandic ski resort of Hlidarfjal. In the end, he flew 291 meters, almost reaching the 300-meter mark and surpassing the greatest distance ever achieved in an official competition by Stefan Kraft (253.5 meters set in Vikersund in 2017) by 37.5 meters. However, as it was not a ski jumping hill recognized and approved by the FIS, Kobayashi “only” achieved the unofficial world record. The video of the jump can be seen here. With distances like that, we can look forward to the new season. The FIS provisional calendar continues on August 13 with the Summer Grand Prix in Courchevel (France). The 2024/2025 World Cup season is then set to kick off in Lillehammer from November 22 to 24. The official confirmation of the ski jumping calendar by the FIS Council will take place on May 8.