Ryoyu Kobayashi fell from third in qualifying to 10th in the ski jumping men's large hill of the Pyeongchang Olympics on Saturday, when Japan's sentimental favorite Noriaki Kasai failed to reach the final round -- in what may possibly be the last individual Olympic appearance by the jumper known as "Legend."
Poland's Kamil Stoch, the 2014 Sochi Olympic normal and large hill champion, won the gold medal while the Pyeongchang normal hill winner Andreas Wellinger of Germany took silver. Norway's Robert Johansson was third.
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Kobayashi was in striking distance of a medal in seventh place after the first round by hitting 135.5 meters, but could only manage 128 meters on his second jump for a total score of 258.0.
The 21-year-old Kobayashi, who was seventh in the normal hill, did not seem upset by the result. Rather, his confidence appeared to be growing ahead of Monday's team event.
"I wasn't thinking too much about trying to win a medal, and I don't think I jumped too badly today," the first-time Olympian said. "I'll watch the footage and check the timing of my jumps."
"I think I've improved. This is definitely adding to my confidence. I hope I can bring the team some youth and energy. I'm not overthinking, and it's working."
"I'm becoming consistent and peaking here at the right time."
One person who has not peaked is the 45-year-old Kasai, who missed the cut after finishing 33rd in the first round where he amassed just 107.9 points with a jump of 121.0 meters.
Moments after the first jump, the eight-time Olympian who won silver in the large hill in Sochi walked past the media, leaving behind just one word: "Damn."
Kasai later said through the Japanese team media officer he could not catch a break and that he would quickly turn his sights to the team competition.
"There's nothing you can do," Kasai said. "The wind here is hit or miss and if you don't get the right wind, this is what happens."
"I've been competing a lot so ideally, I would have liked to take the day off tomorrow. But given the result tonight, I can't afford to do that. I'll practice tomorrow to work things out for the team event."
Stoch was fourth in the normal hill at these games, but struck pay dirt on the large hill once more. The final jumper, he soared to 136.5 meters on his second jump to finish with 285.7 points.
"It's unbelievable, I can't describe this feeling right now inside me," Stoch said of winning gold with the last jump. "I feel like I'm still dreaming, but this is a beautiful dream so I don't want to wake up."
Kobayashi's older brother, Junshiro, was 24th, while teammate Taku Takeuchi finished 22nd.
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