Lillehammer, Norway – Park City, Utah’s Defending FIS Ski Jumping World Cup champion Sarah Hendrickson came up just a few meters short, finishing second to rival Sara Takanashi of Japan in the season opener on the Olympic K100 jump on Saturday in Lillehammer. Norwegian favorite Anette Sagen was third.

“I think we both know we’re the biggest competitors for each other,” Hendrickson said of Takanashi. “She’s awesome and has been jumping well and that has carried through since last season. I don’t see our competitiveness as a negative thing at all. It probably pushes us both.”

Hendrickson took the first round lead with a jump of 98.5 meters but was only able to fly 95.0 meters on her second jump as Takanashi, the Junior World Champion, put down a strong 98.0-meter effort.

Saturday’s contest was the first competition for Hendrickson following knee surgery last spring. The 18-year-old graduated high school from Park City’s Winter Sports School a week ago.

“For Sarah, she was coming off knee surgery six months ago and didn’t have all that time to train, plus having to cut down her skis by six centimeters was tough (to comply with FIS regulations based on weight). So, second place is amazing for her. She just nailed it today,” said Paolo Bernardi, Women’s Ski Jumping USA Head World Cup Coach. “She was super strong and had a lot of pressure of being the reigning World Cup champion. She’s just a marvelous champion.”

Saturday’s competition was held on the same hill in Lillehammer where Hendrickson won the first-ever FIS World Cup competition for women ski jumpers last year. Lindsey Van, who also underwent knee surgery this summer, was eighth on Saturday, with teammates Jessica Jerome and Abby Hughes 13^th and 24^th, respectively. All are from Park City.

“Jessica’s fist round was not her best, but she came back and had a good second jump,” said Bernardi. “And Abby, she just put up two of her best jumps of the year. I’m very proud.”

The women’s ski jumping World Cup now heads for an Olympic test events in Sochi, Russia, Dec. 7-9. The U.S. women will remain in Europe to train.

OFFICIAL RESULTS
FIS Ski Jumping World Cup
Lillehammer, Norway – Nov. 24, 2012
Women’s HS100