Eight of the top 10 leaders in the ski jumping World Cup standings will skip tour events in Japan later this month to prepare for next month's Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, the Ski Association of Japan (SAJ) said Thursday.
Tour leader Adam Malysz of Poland and Sven Hannawald of Germany, winner of the last five World Cup events, will top the list of big names sitting out the Hakuba meet in Nagano Prefecture on Jan. 24 and the Sapporo competitions on Jan. 26-27.
Austria will send its top jumpers, including Martin Hoellwarth and Andreas Widhoelzl who are currently fourth and fifth on the World Cup rankings, while Germany and Finland plan to send their second line of younger jumping prospects.
SAJ officials suggested that the World Cup leaders are trying to avoid tiring themselves out just before the Olympics, which get under way in Salt Lake City on Feb. 8, and will spend the time in their own countries preparing for the Games.
The Japanese officials also see the absence of the top jumpers in Japan as a chance to build up a little momentum before the Olympics by scoring some positive results before going to Salt Lake City.
A total of 18 Japanese jumpers will be competing in the events, including 1998 Olympic champion Kazuyoshi Funaki, who is currently 11th on the World Cup rankings, and exciting newcomer Hiroki Yamada.