Ski Jumping
Ryōyū Kobayashi’s longest ski jump world record: How he did it
Japanese superstar ski jumper flew in the air longer than anyone before – to land an incredible 291m world record. How was this ski jump done?
Ryōyū Kobayashi stunned the world in April 2024 landing an incredible 291 meter world record for the longest ski jump in history.
The world record ski jump in figures:
- Kobayashi launched off a ski jump that was specially built for this feat on a hill
- His biggest opponents were the wind and weather conditions
- It took him several attempts over two days before he landed the world record of 291 m
- In over two centuries of recorded ski jump records, nearly all had been broken by just a few metres or less
- None came remotely close to Kobayashi’s margin of 37.5m
- The athlete reached a top speed of 107kph at takeoff
- His time suspended in air was eight seconds
The audacious achievement holds deep personal meaning for Kobayashi. Already one of ski jumping’s all-time greats, the 27-year-old athlete from Japan has dreamed of taking the sport to new levels ever since his childhood. “This jump has been a dream of mine for a long time, as I’ve always wanted to jump farther than anyone ever has, and I want to keep pushing the boundaries,” said the Japanese superstar.
The team celebrates after Kobayashi sets a world record
© Jón Ragnar Jónsson/Red Bull Content Pool
There were so many challenges to smash the ski jump world record. But the first challenge was that there was no ski jump big enough in the world – so Kobayashi’s team had to build one. With the help of a ski jump expert, the team had to figure out what exactly they needed to make the world record ski jump work – and then they had to find the right slope, angle and length for it. After all the calculations and modelling, Kobayashi’s team searched all over the world for the perfect hill to build the ramp. They found it in Akureyri, Iceland.
Kobayashi’s team devoted over two months and moved more than 120,000 cubic metres of snow to sculpt a snow ski jump table on the natural terrain that is 1,115 metres high at the start, descending across an altitude difference of 360 metres with a maximum gradient of 36 degrees.
A lot of preparation went into making the jump
© Joerg Mitter/Red Bull Content Pool
Once in Iceland, Kobayashi began his attempts on April 23, and while he set one new record after another at 256m, then 259m and 282m, the athlete was hungry for something bigger. When he finally set his 291m mark on April 24, emotions were high.
Janne Vaeaetaeinen, Kobayashi’s coach for the world record attempt, said, “It was a crazy couple of days, and I have so many thoughts right now, but an amazing and very exciting result to see this come to life. It was hard to know what to expect for the first jump, and then a rollercoaster of emotions throughout.”
Kobayashi's trajectory
© Predrag Vuckovic/Red Bull Content Pool
01
What is the world record ski jump?
Ryōyū Kobayashi broke the world record for the longest ski jump in history in April 2024, landing an incredible 291m from the launch point, shattering the ski flying and ski jump world record by 37.5m in the process. Until April 2024, the world record ski jump was held by Austrian ski jumping great Stefan Kraft, who jumped 253.5 metres in Vikkersund, Norway, at an official competition back in 2017. Unlike Kraft, Kobayashi jumped off a tailor-made kicker outside of his competition season.
02
What is the largest man made ski jump?
For his world record ski jump Ryōyū Kobayashi’s team had to create ski jump that was bigger than regular competition ski jumps. The team found perfect conditions on a hill in Akureyri in northern Iceland. The ski jumping ramp Kobayashi’s team built was gigantic.