Here’s what Ryoyu Kobayashi did after Kacper Tomasiak’s jump — the gesture said it all

Kacper Tomasiak handled enormous pressure and flew 127 m on his second jump in Innsbruck. That result briefly put the 18-year-old into the lead, a position previously held by Ryoyu Kobayashi. The famous Japanese jumper didn’t hide his admiration and rewarded the young Pole with applause.

After the first round Tomasiak was in 9th place following a 126 m jump. In the second round he added one metre and ultimately finished 8th — the best result among the Polish jumpers that day. That performance also left him 11th in the overall World Cup standings after the Ga‑Pa event.

At the moment Tomasiak stepped onto the start gate he displaced Kobayashi from the top of the leaderboard. In the first round Kobayashi had landed at 124 m and was only 14th, but in his second jump he flew much farther. A 127 m second attempt moved the Japanese athlete back into the lead — a lead he held until Tomasiak’s jump. The Pole beat him by 1.3 points on the day.

Cameras then showed Kobayashi standing where the current leader waits; with a smile he applauded Tomasiak, acknowledging the Polish teenager’s very strong jump.

Tomasiak finished 8th and Kobayashi ended inside the top 10, separated from Tomasiak by Jason Colby. The event was won by Ren Nikaido, who narrowly beat Domen Prevc, with Stephan Embacher in third.

The athletes have little time to rest: the day after the Bergisel competition (on 5 January) official training and qualifications are scheduled at the Paul Ausserleitner hill in Bischofshofen, followed by the trial round and the final competition that will close the 74th Four Hills Tournament.