Another record for Noriaki Kasai

According to a report of the Japan Times, the qualifying period of the Japanese Ski Association for the upcoming Olympic Winter Games already ended last Saturday. So the team for PyeongChang seems set now.

Besides Junshiro Kobayashi, Taku Takeuchi, Ryoyu Kobayashi and Daiki Ito, veteran Noriaki Kasai will, of course, be a part of it. And Kasai would set yet another record if he competes in PyeongChang.

For the 45-year-old this would already by the eighth appearance at Winter Olympic Games. Since Sochi 2014, Noriaki Kasai shares the current record of seven participations with Russia luger Albert Demchenko, who was banned from the Olympic Games due to the Russian doping scandal.

So far Noriaki Kasai has won three medals at Olympic Games: Silver with the team in Lillehammer 1994 and 20 years later in Sochi bronze with the team and silver in the individual event on the large hill.

The Ski Jumping legend is still lacking the gold and he wants to continue working on that, as he was quoted by the Japan Times already in 2015: "My current goal is to win the gold medal at Pyeongchang. When I reached 40, I decided I would call it quits when I turned 50. But now Sapporo, my birthplace, is bidding for the 2026 Games. I will be 54 by that time, but it is too big a chance to give up."