At 53, Japan’s ski jumping veteran shows no signs of contemplating retirement.
Even after 37 years in international ski jumping, Noriaki Kasai is not even considering retirement. “Now my big goal is to jump until I’m 60, to surprise people in Japan and around the world,” said the 53-year-old on the sidelines of his home World Cup in Sapporo on Eurosport .
“Nori” had missed the qualification for the first of two jumps in the 1972 Olympic city – Kasai’s birth year. His already slim chances of participating in the Olympic Winter Games in February have thus further diminished.
Does Kasai overshadow a German legend?
Nevertheless, he says: “I have the desire to be at the Olympics.”
Should Kasai, who celebrated his World Cup debut in Sapporo in December 1988, really continue until his 60th birthday, he would have another chance for his ninth Olympic participation in the French Alps in 2030.
No one has yet achieved this in winter sports; So far, Kasai shares the record with speed skater Claudia Pechstein, who has ended her career.