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Noriaki Kasai wants to continue until 2026
Good news for many ski jumping fans all over the world: At age 42, veteran Noriaki Kasai is still not seriously considering to end his career.
The Japanese not only wants to participate in the next Olympic Games in PyeongChang 2018, he is also thinking about competing in the following Winter Games. As the Japan Times reports, he told that after an event on the occasion of the 90-year-anniversary of the Japanese Ski Association.
"My current goal is to win the gold medal at Pyeongchang and I want to achieve it in front of my family. When I reached 40, I decided I would call it quits when I turn 50. But now Sapporo, my birthplace, is bidding for the 2026 Games. I will be almost 54 by that time, but it is too big a chance to give up.”
The sixth of last winter's overall World Cup not only set high goals for 2018, but also for the near future. "Breaking my record for the oldest World Cup winner again is one of my goals next season, but I also want to be the overall No. 1 in the World Cup. I had good jumps in the competitions I took part in. If I hadn’t missed those four competitions, my ranking could have been better.”
And, after all these years in competitive sports, he is still not lacking the necessary motivation to achieve his goals. "It’s been a year since the Sochi Olympics, but I got a lot of offers to appear in talk shows. I’ve been busy, but I never slow down the pace of my training. I love training."
There's one thing that might prevent the Japanese from continuing his career for yet another decade: If Sapporo would not get the chance to host the Winter Games 2026. "Then I will retire when I turn 50", Kasai is quoted on japantimes.co.jp. But he wants to play his part in making sure this won't happen. "Having good results in international competitions and emphasizing that I’m a Sapporo native, that can help Sapporo to become the host city of the 2026 Games.”
Source: fis-ski.com
The Japanese not only wants to participate in the next Olympic Games in PyeongChang 2018, he is also thinking about competing in the following Winter Games. As the Japan Times reports, he told that after an event on the occasion of the 90-year-anniversary of the Japanese Ski Association.
"My current goal is to win the gold medal at Pyeongchang and I want to achieve it in front of my family. When I reached 40, I decided I would call it quits when I turn 50. But now Sapporo, my birthplace, is bidding for the 2026 Games. I will be almost 54 by that time, but it is too big a chance to give up.”
The sixth of last winter's overall World Cup not only set high goals for 2018, but also for the near future. "Breaking my record for the oldest World Cup winner again is one of my goals next season, but I also want to be the overall No. 1 in the World Cup. I had good jumps in the competitions I took part in. If I hadn’t missed those four competitions, my ranking could have been better.”
And, after all these years in competitive sports, he is still not lacking the necessary motivation to achieve his goals. "It’s been a year since the Sochi Olympics, but I got a lot of offers to appear in talk shows. I’ve been busy, but I never slow down the pace of my training. I love training."
There's one thing that might prevent the Japanese from continuing his career for yet another decade: If Sapporo would not get the chance to host the Winter Games 2026. "Then I will retire when I turn 50", Kasai is quoted on japantimes.co.jp. But he wants to play his part in making sure this won't happen. "Having good results in international competitions and emphasizing that I’m a Sapporo native, that can help Sapporo to become the host city of the 2026 Games.”
Source: fis-ski.com
