# Sara Takanashi

Sara Takanashi (高梨 沙羅, Takanashi Sara) (born 8 October 1996) is a Japanese ski jumper. She is one of the most successful female ski jumpers to date, as well as one of the most successful athletes in the history of the sport, having won four World Cup overall titles (an all-time female record), seven World Championship medals, and a Winter Olympic medal. As of March 2025, Takanashi holds the record for the most individual World Cup wins, male or female, with 63. She also has three Guinness World Records certificates for the most podium finishes in the Ski Jumping World Cup, the most individual victories by a female in the Ski Jumping World Cup, and the most Ski Jumping World Cup individual victories in a career (overall).

## Career

Takanashi placed sixth at the 2011 World Championship in Oslo. In the World Cup, she debuted on 3 December 2011 in Lillehammer where she finished fifth.
During the 2013–14 season, Takanashi won 15 out of 18 individual World Cup ski jumping events. At the 2014 Winter Olympics, she was ranked third after her first jump in the medal round, but dropped to fourth place in the final round and missed the podium. In the 2015–16 season, she won her third World Cup overall title.
Takanashi also won the first-ever women's World Cup team competition in Hinterzarten on 16 December 2017. Her teammates included Yuki Ito, Kaori Iwabuchi and Yuka Seto.
She won a bronze medal in the individual normal hill event at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.

## Major tournament results
### Winter Olympics

| Year | Place | NH | Mixed |
| 2014 | Sochi | 4 | N/A |
| 2018 | Pyeongchang | | N/A |
| 2022 | Beijing | 4 | 4 |

### FIS Nordic World Ski Championships

| Year | Place | NH | LH | Team | Mixed |
| 2011 | Oslo | 6 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2013 | Val di Fiemme | | N/A | N/A | |
| 2015 | Falun | 4 | N/A | N/A | |
| 2017 | Lahti | | N/A | N/A | |
| 2019 | Seefeld | 6 | N/A | 6 | 5 |
| 2021 | Oberstdorf | | | 4 | 5 |
| 2023 | Planica | 20 | — | — | — |
| 2025 | Trondheim | 14 | 12 | 5 | 5 |

## World Cup
### Standings

| Season | Position | Points |
| 2011–12 | 3 | 639 |
| 2012–13 | 1 | 1,297 |
| 2013–14 | 1 | 1,720 |
| 2014–15 | 2 | 973 |
| 2015–16 | 1 | 1,610 |
| 2016–17 | 1 | 1,455 |
| 2017–18 | 3 | 916 |
| 2018–19 | 4 | 1,190 |
| 2019–20 | 4 | 785 |
| 2020–21 | 2 | 862 |
| 2021–22 | 5 | 843 |
| 2022–23 | 10 | 674 |
| 2023–24 | 9 | 799 |

### Individual wins

| No. | Season | Date | Location | Hill | Size |
| 1 | 2011–12 | 3 March 2012 | Zaō | Yamagata HS100 | NH |
| 2 | 2012–13 | 24 November 2012 | Lillehammer | Lysgårdsbakken HS100 | NH |
| 3 | 2012–13 | 14 December 2012 | Ramsau | W90-Mattensprunganlage HS98 | NH |
| 4 | 2012–13 | 5 January 2013 | Schonach | Langenwaldschanze HS106 | NH |
| 5 | 2012–13 | 13 January 2013 | Hinterzarten | Rothaus-Schanze HS108 | NH |
| 6 | 2012–13 | 10 February 2013 | Zaō | Yamagata HS100 | NH |
| 7 | 2012–13 | 10 February 2013 | Zaō | Yamagata HS100 | NH |
| 8 | 2012–13 | 16 February 2013 | Ljubno ob Savinji | Savina Ski Jumping Center HS95 | NH |
| 9 | 2012–13 | 17 February 2013 | Ljubno ob Savinji | Savina Ski Jumping Center HS95 | NH |
| 10 | 2013–14 | 7 December 2013 | Lillehammer | Lysgårdsbakken HS100 | NH |
| 11 | 2013–14 | 21 December 2013 | Hinterzarten | Rothaus-Schanze HS108 | NH |
| 12 | 2013–14 | 22 December 2013 | Hinterzarten | Rothaus-Schanze HS108 | NH |
| 13 | 2013–14 | 3 January 2014 | Chaykovsky | Snezhinka HS106 | NH |
| 14 | 2013–14 | 11 January 2014 | Sapporo | Miyanomori HS100 | NH |
| 15 | 2013–14 | 12 January 2014 | Sapporo | Miyanomori HS100 | NH |
| 16 | 2013–14 | 18 January 2014 | Zaō | Yamagata HS100 | NH |
| 17 | 2013–14 | 19 January 2014 | Zaō | Yamagata HS100 | NH |
| 18 | 2013–14 | 1 February 2014 | Hinzenbach | Aigner-Schanze HS94 | NH |
| 19 | 2013–14 | 2 February 2014 | Hinzenbach | Aigner-Schanze HS94 | NH |
| 20 | 2013–14 | 1 March 2014 | Râșnov | Trambulina Valea Cărbunării HS100 | NH |
| 21 | 2013–14 | 2 March 2014 | Râșnov | Trambulina Valea Cărbunării HS100 | NH |
| 22 | 2013–14 | 8 March 2014 | Oslo | Holmenkollbakken HS134 | LH |
| 23 | 2013–14 | 15 March 2014 | Falun | Lugnet HS98 | NH |
| 24 | 2013–14 | 22 March 2014 | Planica | Bloudkova velikanka HS139 | LH |
| 25 | 2014–15 | 10 January 2015 | Sapporo | Miyanomori HS100 | NH |
| 26 | 2014–15 | 11 January 2015 | Sapporo | Miyanomori HS100 | NH |
| 27 | 2014–15 | 8 February 2015 | Râșnov | Trambulina Valea Cărbunării HS100 | NH |
| 28 | 2014–15 | 14 February 2015 | Ljubno ob Savinji | Savina Ski Jumping Center HS95 | NH |
| 29 | 2014–15 | 15 February 2015 | Ljubno ob Savinji | Savina Ski Jumping Center HS95 | NH |
| 30 | 2014–15 | 13 March 2015 | Oslo | Holmenkollbakken HS134 | LH |
| 31 | 2015–16 | 4 December 2015 | Lillehammer | Lysgårdsbakken HS100 | NH |
| 32 | 2015–16 | 13 December 2015 | Nizhny Tagil | Tramplin Stork HS97 | NH |
| 33 | 2015–16 | 16 January 2016 | Sapporo | Miyanomori HS100 | NH |
| 34 | 2015–16 | 17 January 2016 | Sapporo | Miyanomori HS100 | NH |
| 35 | 2015–16 | 22 January 2016 | Zaō | Yamagata HS106 | NH |
| 36 | 2015–16 | 23 January 2016 | Zaō | Yamagata HS106 | NH |
| 37 | 2015–16 | 30 January 2016 | Oberstdorf | Schattenbergschanze HS106 | NH |
| 38 | 2015–16 | 31 January 2016 | Oberstdorf | Schattenbergschanze HS106 | NH |
| 39 | 2015–16 | 4 February 2016 | Oslo | Holmenkollbakken HS134 | LH |
| 40 | 2015–16 | 6 February 2016 | Hinzenbach | Aigner-Schanze HS94 | NH |
| 41 | 2015–16 | 7 February 2016 | Hinzenbach | Aigner-Schanze HS94 | NH |
| 42 | 2015–16 | 19 February 2016 | Lahti | Salpausselkä HS100 | NH |
| 43 | 2015–16 | 27 February 2016 | Almaty | Sunkar HS106 | NH |
| 44 | 2015–16 | 28 February 2016 | Almaty | Sunkar HS106 | NH |
| 45 | 2016–17 | 2 December 2016 | Lillehammer | Lysgårdsbakken HS100 | NH |
| 46 | 2016–17 | 3 December 2016 | Lillehammer | Lysgårdsbakken HS100 | NH |
| 47 | 2016–17 | 11 December 2016 | Nizhny Tagil | Tramplin Stork HS100 | NH |
| 48 | 2016–17 | 7 January 2017 | Oberstdorf | Schattenbergschanze HS137 | LH |
| 49 | 2016–17 | 8 January 2017 | Oberstdorf | Schattenbergschanze HS137 | LH |
| 50 | 2016–17 | 29 January 2017 | Râșnov | Trambulina Valea Cărbunării HS100 | NH |
| 51 | 2016–17 | 4 February 2017 | Hinzenbach | Aigner-Schanze HS94 | NH |
| 52 | 2016–17 | 5 February 2017 | Hinzenbach | Aigner-Schanze HS94 | NH |
| 53 | 2016–17 | 16 February 2017 | Pyeongchang | Alpensia Ski Jumping Centre HS109 | NH |
| 54 | 2017–18 | 24 March 2018 | Oberstdorf | Schattenbergschanze HS106 | NH |
| 55 | 2017–18 | 25 March 2018 | Oberstdorf | Schattenbergschanze HS106 | NH |
| 56 | 2018–19 | 10 February 2019 | Ljubno ob Savinji | Savina Ski Jumping Center HS94 | NH |
| 57 | 2019–20 | 9 March 2020 | Lillehammer | Lysgårdsbakken HS140 | LH |
| 58 | 2020–21 | 6 February 2021 | Hinzenbach | Aigner-Schanze HS90 | NH |
| 59 | 2020–21 | 7 February 2021 | Hinzenbach | Aigner-Schanze HS90 | NH |
| 60 | 2020–21 | 19 February 2021 | Râșnov | Trambulina Valea Cărbunării HS97 | NH |
| 61 | 2021–22 | 1 January 2022 | Ljubno ob Savinji | Savina Ski Jumping Center HS94 | NH |
| 62 | 2021–22 | 2 March 2022 | Lillehammer | Lysgårdsbakken HS140 | LH |
| 63 | 2021–22 | 6 March 2022 | Oslo | Holmenkollbakken HS134 | LH |

### Individual starts

winner (1); second (2); third (3); did not compete (–); disqualified (DQ) :
| Season | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
| 2011–12 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 2011–12 | 5 | 17 | 2 | – | – | – | – | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 2012–13 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 2012–13 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 2013–14 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 2013–14 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | | | | | | | |
| 2014–15 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 2014–15 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 2015–16 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 2015–16 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | | | | | | | | |
| 2016–17 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 2016–17 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | – | – | 2 | 1 | 2 | | | | | | | |
| 2017–18 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 2017–18 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 2018–19 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 2018–19 | 3 | DQ | 11 | 2 | 3 | 11 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 14 | 6 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 8 | | |
| 2019–20 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 2019–20 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 9 | 16 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 8 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 2020–21 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 2020–21 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 2 | DQ | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 7 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 2021–22 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 2021–22 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 1 | – | – | – | – | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 7 | | | | | | | |
| 2022–23 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 2022–23 | 6 | 5 | 18 | 16 | 14 | 11 | 14 | 5 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 30 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 11 | – | – | – | – | 10 | 11 | 11 |
| 2023–24 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 2023–24 | 12 | 6 | 21 | 11 | 6 | 19 | 9 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 12 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 9 | 17 | 6 | 4 | | |