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Veteran Okabe gets surprise call for 4 Hills
Veteran jumper Takanobu Okabe’s surprise selection to Japan’s squad for the upcoming Four Hills Tournament has attracted the attention of the ski jumping world.
The International Ski Federation carried an article on its official website about the 43-year-old being picked for the Japan team with a subhead, “Surprise in the Japanese team.”
It will be Okabe’s first World Cup event outside of Japan since March 2010. The tournament, which is composed of four World Cup events, will start Saturday.
The Ski Association of Japan said the results of the Four Hills Tournament will be considered in choosing the members for the Sochi Olympics in February, making the tournament Okabe’s last chance to make the cut.
Okabe, a member of the Japan squad that won the team gold at the 1998 Nagano Olympics, has regained form this year, winning three domestic summer jump events in a row.
He was not dispatched to any World Cup events so far this season. But he won the Nayoro Piyashiri meet in Hokkaido earlier this month and was named as a replacement for 20-year-old Reruhi Shimizu for the Four Hills.
With Okabe’s selection, the squad now has two jumpers in their 40s—the other is 41-year-old Noriaki Kasai, who placed third in a World Cup meet held Dec. 15 in Germany. Taku Takeuchi and Daiki Ito are also entered.
Okabe is a four-time Olympian and also won a team silver at the 1994 Lillehammer Games. He has five World Cup titles, the last one coming in March 2009 at age 38.
Source: http://the-japan-news.com
The International Ski Federation carried an article on its official website about the 43-year-old being picked for the Japan team with a subhead, “Surprise in the Japanese team.”
It will be Okabe’s first World Cup event outside of Japan since March 2010. The tournament, which is composed of four World Cup events, will start Saturday.
The Ski Association of Japan said the results of the Four Hills Tournament will be considered in choosing the members for the Sochi Olympics in February, making the tournament Okabe’s last chance to make the cut.
Okabe, a member of the Japan squad that won the team gold at the 1998 Nagano Olympics, has regained form this year, winning three domestic summer jump events in a row.
He was not dispatched to any World Cup events so far this season. But he won the Nayoro Piyashiri meet in Hokkaido earlier this month and was named as a replacement for 20-year-old Reruhi Shimizu for the Four Hills.
With Okabe’s selection, the squad now has two jumpers in their 40s—the other is 41-year-old Noriaki Kasai, who placed third in a World Cup meet held Dec. 15 in Germany. Taku Takeuchi and Daiki Ito are also entered.
Okabe is a four-time Olympian and also won a team silver at the 1994 Lillehammer Games. He has five World Cup titles, the last one coming in March 2009 at age 38.
Source: http://the-japan-news.com
