On Wednesday, Japan’s Ryoyu Kobayashi reached a new unofficial world record for the longest ski jump in history by flying 291 meters in Iceland. The event was organized by Red Bull and took place on a specially set up hill on a slope in Akureyri, where Kobayashi successfully landed.
As the individual normal hill gold medalist at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, Kobayashi expressed his dream of pushing the boundaries of ski jumping and achieving a distance of 300 meters. He described the experience as a dream come true and a goal he has 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. The current official ski jumping distance world record of 253.5 meters is held by Stefan Kraft of Austria, achieved in Vikersund, Norway in 2017. Despite the unofficial nature of Kobayashi’s achievement, it marks a significant milestone in the world of ski jumping and demonstrates his dedication to pushing the limits of the sport.