--Austria's Felix Gottwald increased his lead in the World Cup Nordic combined standings Thursday by winning his fourth title of the season in Hokkaido.
Gottwald overcame a 1.8-point deficit after placing fifth in the 10-km cross-country leg by nailing jumps of 86 and 87.5 meters for third on the K-86 normal hill in Nayoro to finish with a winning total of 241.2 points.
Finland's Samppa Lajunen accumulated 239 points for second place, with world and Olympic champion Bjarte Engen Vik of Norway third.
Gottwald leads the World Cup standings with 1,395 points from Germany's Ronny Ackemann, who has 1,240 after a fifth-place finish Thursday.
Japan's Gen Tomii and Daito Takahashi placed joint 15th as the highest-placed finishers for the host nation.
Teammates Tomii and Takahashi, who won his first Nordic combined national crown last month, both finished with 203.7, while Kenji Ogiwara recorded his lowest position of the season on the World Cup circuit, coming 30th with 177.5 points.