Takanashi lifts 15th ski jump World Cup

Japanese teenage ski jumper Sara Takanashi soared to a record-stretching 15th World Cup victory Sunday, her second win in two days, stepping up her bid for gold at the Sochi Olympics. "I have nothing to worry about," the 17-year-old high school student said about next month's Sochi Games where women's ski-jumping makes its Olympic debut. "I want to continue making steady jumps." It was her sixth victory in seven World Cup events contested so far in the 2013-2014 season as she aims to retain the overall title she first won last year. Takanashi, who is 152 centimetres tall, jumped 97 metres in the first round to register the day's longest distance as snow continued to fall on the Miyanomori hill in Sapporo, northern Japan. Her second jump went 91 metres and she collected a total of 237.1 points. Coline Mattel of France finished second on 219.8 points with jumps of 90 and 91 metres while Russia's Irina Avvakumova was third at 215.3 after jumping 91 and 87.5 metres. On Saturday, Takanashi won her 14th World Cup event to break her rival Sarah Hendrickson's record of 13 wins. "I feel really happy," Takanashi, from the nearby town of Kamikawa, declared about her back-to-back home wins. "The (track) condition was not good and I jumped with care." American Hendrickson, the 19-year-old reigning world champion and the winner of the World Cup overall title in the inaugural 2011-2012 season, is recovering from a cruciate ligament injury after a fall in August. She is hoping to come back to competition this month. After seven events in the 19-round season, Takanashi leads the overall standings with a whopping 660 points. Russia's Irina Avvakumova is second on 435 and Germany's Carina Vogt lies in third with 406. Results: 1. Sara Takanashi (JPN) 237.1 pts (97-91m),2.  Coline Mattel (FRA) 219.8 (90-91), 3. Irina Avvakumova (RUS) 215.3 (91-87.5), 4. Atsuko Tanaka (CAN) 215.2 (85-91.5), 5. Lindsey Van 214.2 (83.5-93) Overall standings (after seven of 19 events) 1. Sara Takanashi (JPN) 660 pts., 2. Irina Avvakumova (RUS) 435, 3. Carina Vogt (GER) 406, 4. Daniela Iraschko-Stolz (AUT) 322, 5. Coline Mattel (FRA) 275 Source: AFP