Four-time Olympic champion Simon Ammann snatched victory with his last jump in the World Cup at Kuusamo in Finland on Friday, thwarting a double Japanese challenge.
The 33-year-old Swiss put in a jump of 142 metres on his second attempt on the large hill for a winning total of 284.1 points having registered 139.5m on his first jump.
Daiki Ito finished second on 276.1 points after a final jump of 137.5m.
Fellow Japanese, 42-year-old Noriaki Kasai took third place on 270.5 points.
It was the first time in eight years that Japan had two competitors on the podium.
Ammann, whose last win was in December 2013, now leads the overall World Cup standings on 136 points.
“It was important today to have a very good jump in the first round. My training was not so good, but somehow I managed to keep it together. I was very high over the knoll in the first round,” Ammann told www.fis-ski.com after his 22nd career World Cup win.
“This good feeling gave me power in the second round. I’m really happy that everything worked out so well. I still have some things to work on, like my landing. It’s important to be in front so early in the season, because the conditions can be unpredictable.”
Kasai said he was content with his third-place finish.
“I’m satisfied with my result and also surprised by my jumps. I didn’t train much in summer because I was busy with TV appearances,” said the evergreen Kasai.
“We have a Finnish coach and he organized a training camp here for us. He is a very good coach and he helped me to improve my jumps.”
Results
1. Simon Ammann (SUI) 284.1 pts (139.5 + 142 m), 2. Daiki Ito (JPN) 276.1 (138.0 + 137.5 m), 3. Noriaki Kasai (JPN) 270.5 (131.0 + 136.5 m)