Yoshito WATABE

As Akito Watabe's younger brother, the sport of choice was probably not difficult to find for Yoshito Watabe. Born in 1991, he made his World Cup debut in Val di Fiemme in 2009, three years after his older brother and has been a fixed part of the Japanese World Cup team since the winter of 2011.

Yoshito, who has since developed into one of the best jumpers in the field, is generally known to be an open and friendly athlete, who is also not above posing for funny pictures and always taking his time for media requests and statements, which come more and more frequently after he started collecting PCR and ski jumping competition round wins in the season of 2012/13.

This winter can definitely be regarded as the breakthrough year for Yoshito as he claimed his first Top 30 overall rank, and, after a series of close calls, also his first World Cup podium with rank three at Holmenkollen, Oslo. Again, he managed to do this together with his brother Akito who came in second in the same competition. In typical Watabe-manner, the brothers later summed up their achievements as "Eric Frenzel was in the Watabe-sandwich today! Our mother will be really happy!"

And so it is no surprise that Watabe's biggest merit, achieved at the World Championships in Lahti in 2017, also happened in team work with his brother: the Japanese claimed the bronze medal in the Team Sprint.