New world record

Madness: Kobayashi sails to 291 meters in Iceland

Ryoyu Kobayashi flew to an incredible 291 meters in Iceland.(Bild: Joerg Mitter / Red Bull Content Pool)

(Bild: Predrag Vuckovic / Red Bull Content Pool)

Ski jumping star Ryoyu Kobayashi flew into a new dimension on Wednesday. Japan's Olympic champion set a new ski jumping record of 291 meters on a natural snow hill in Iceland. He flew 37.5 meters further than Stefan Kraft with his world record in 2017.

News of Ryoyu Kobayashi's world record attempt spread like wildfire on social media. Japan's Olympic champion made his first test flights on Tuesday on the huge natural snow hill in Iceland, which was built especially for him. He wanted to overtake the previous number one Stefan Kraft (253.5 m).

Ryoyu Kobayashi concentrates before the start.(Bild: Joerg Mitter / Red Bull Content Pool)

The idea has been around since 2011
For the 27-year-old, however, it was all about the dream of his first flight over 300 meters. Drinks giant Red Bull wanted to embark on the adventure back in 2011 in the Hohe Tauern National Park. Back then, a huge ski jump made of natural snow was to be built on the Grossglockner. However, the bull eagles Gregor Schlierenzauer, Thomas Morgenstern and Adam Malysz never flew there.

30 years after Andi Goldberger became the first person to fly over the ominous 200-meter mark in Planica, Kobayashi sailed into a new dimension in ski flying on Wednesday. The three-time tour winner flew to an incredible 291 meters in perfect ski flying weather. That is 37.5 meters further than Stefan Kraft's world record in Vikersund. After that, however, the adrenaline-pumped Japanese athlete had nothing more to say: "The season is finally over."

Jumping into new spheres.(Bild: Predrag Vuckovic / Red Bull Content Pool)

Officially, however, Austria's high-flyer Kraft is still the world record holder. The huge natural snow bakken in the Hlidarfjall ski resort not far from the town of Akureyi in the north of Iceland is not approved by the FIS, and only flights at official competitions are counted. This means that no flight in Iceland is recognized as a new record by the International Ski Federation.

It would be best to hold a World Cup there next year. Then it won't be a PR campaign, everyone will benefit.

Österreichs Rekordflieger Gregor Schlierenzauer

Record-breaking skier Gregor Schlierenzauer was nevertheless very enthusiastic about the project and congratulated Kobayashi on his 291-metre flight, as did many other ski jumping stars on Instagram: "It would be best to hold a World Cup there next year. Then it's not a PR campaign, everyone benefits."

Monster jump to be dismantled
However, the chances of a World Cup competition are slim. Red Bull began dismantling the monster jump after the record flight.

The 27-year-old celebrates his record flight.(Bild: Joerg Mitter / Red Bull Content Pool)

Done!(Bild: Joerg Mitter / Red Bull Content Pool)

Landing at 291 meters.(Bild: Mihai Stetcu / Red Bull Content Pool)

The Japanese surpasses Stefan Kraft's world record mark.(Bild: Dominik Angerer / Red Bull Content Pool)

And what does the World Ski Federation do? Vikersund and Planica are to upgrade their ski jump to 270 meters.