ZHANGJIAKOU, China (AP) — Marius Lindvik of Norway won gold in on the large hill Saturday, holding off Ryoyu Kobayashi of Japan.
Lindvik jumped 140 metres on his final jump and earned 296.1 points overall to become the first Norwegian to win the event since Toralf Engan in 1964.
Kobayashi, who won gold on the normal hill on Sunday, earned silver. Karl Geiger of Germany, who is No. 1 in the World Cup rankings, finished third.
Two-time defending champion Kamil Stoch of Poland was fourth, coming up short on his shot to become the first to win three straight Olympic titles on the large hill.
went into the final round with the lead after jumping 142 metres and earning 147 points. Lindvik trailed by only 2.2 points, then soared past him with nearly flawless style.
Mackenzie Boyd-Clowes of Calgary was the top Canadian in the competition but he failed to qualify for the final. Boyd-Clowes finished 32nd in the qualifier after jumping 128.5 metres and earning 119.2 points. Only the top 30 advanced to the final.
Teammate Matthew Soukup, also of Calgary, was 49th in the 50-qualifier after jumping 115 metres and collecting 90.8 points.
Earlier in the games, Boyd-Clowes, 30, and Soukup, 24, teamed with Abigail Strate, 20, and Alexandria Loutitt, 18, to capture the bronze medal in the first-ever mixed team ski jumping competition at an Olympic Games.
Two-time gold medallist Andreas Wellinger is unable to compete in China because he tested positive for COVID-19.
Men have been at the Winter Olympics since the first edition in 1924 while did not have access to the sport at the Olympics until 2014.
The men will be back on the large hill on Monday for a team competition. Norway, Germany and Austria have won the last three Olympic team events. The trio of traditional powers will likely contend for medals again, trying to hold off Slovenia and Japan.
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Larry Lage, The Associated Press
