HAKUBA, Japan (AP) — Akito Watabe of Japan won his fourth straight Nordic combined World Cup event on Saturday to enhance his position as a gold medal contender at the Pyeongchang Olympics.
Watabe jumped 130.5 meters and finished the 10-kilometer race in 24 minutes, 14.6 seconds, 1:12.6 ahead of Norway’s Jan Schmid. Germany’s Manuel Faisst was third.
The 29-year-old Sochi silver medalist, who will represent Japan in his fourth straight Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, extended his season wins to five — the most he has won in a single season on the World Cup circuit.
Watabe became only the second athlete to sweep the three-day Seefeld Triple event in Austria last month.