My Take
Okay, I'll just say it: Sara Takanashi is one of the most absurdly gifted athletes Japan has ever produced, and somehow she's still kind of slept on outside the ski-jumping bubble. Picture this tiny 152cm person standing on a ramp the size of a building, and instead of getting blown away she launches off and out-flies a whole field of giants—she literally holds the record for most World Cup wins of anyone, man or woman. That's bananas. What gets me, though, is the contrast: ferocious focus the second she's on the hill, then this playful girl on Instagram who's clearly obsessed with makeup and fashion. When Beijing went sideways with that suit disqualification, my heart broke for her. The fact that she kept flying after all that? Pure steel. Respect.
Overview
Sara Takanashi is a Japanese professional ski jumper born on October 8, 1996, in Kamikawa, Hokkaido, Japan. She began ski jumping in the second grade of elementary school under her father's guidance and won her first Continental Cup title in 2011 as the youngest female winner in history. She has claimed the FIS Ski Jumping World Cup overall title four times and earned a bronze medal at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, going on to record 63 World Cup victories and 116 podium finishes — the most of any ski jumper, male or female — by 2024.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Sara Takanashi
- Name (Japanese)
- 髙梨沙羅
- Reading
- たかなし さら
- Born
- October 8, 1996 (age 29)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Libra / Rat
- Origin
- Kamikawa, Hokkaido, Japan
- Blood type
- A
- Height
- 152 cm
- Agency
- Kuraray
- Active years
- 2011–present
- Occupation
- Ski Jumper / Athlete
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Kamikawa Municipal Kamikawa Elementary School
- Junior high
- Kamikawa Municipal Kamikawa Junior High School
- High school
- Grace Mountain International School
- University
- Nippon Sport Science University, Faculty of Sport Science
- Debut
- 2011 — Won the Continental Cup as the youngest female winner in FIS history
Awards & achievements
- 2013 FIS Ski Jumping World Cup Overall (youngest ever, age 16)
- 2014 FIS Ski Jumping World Cup Overall (2nd title)
- 2016 FIS Ski Jumping World Cup Overall (3rd title)
- 2017 FIS Ski Jumping World Cup Overall (4th title)
- 2017 Holmenkollen Medal
- 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics — Women's Normal Hill Individual Bronze Medal
- 2018 Guinness World Record — Most World Cup individual victories in ski jumping
Timeline
- 2004Began ski jumping in second grade of elementary school
- 2011Won the Continental Cup as the youngest female winner in FIS history
- 2012Made her FIS Ski Jumping World Cup debut
- 2013Won World Cup Overall title (youngest ever); claimed silver in Normal Hill and gold in Mixed Team at the World Championships
- 2014Finished 4th in Women's Normal Hill at the Sochi Winter Olympics; won World Cup Overall for the second consecutive year
- 2016Won FIS Ski Jumping World Cup Overall for the third time
- 2017Won FIS Ski Jumping World Cup Overall for the fourth time; received the Holmenkollen Medal
- 2018Won bronze medal in Women's Normal Hill Individual at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics
- 2022Disqualified from the Mixed Team event at the Beijing Winter Olympics for a suit violation
- 2024Recorded 63 World Cup victories and 116 podium finishes — the all-time record across men and women
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Unmarried
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Hobbies
- Makeup
- Fashion
- Ballet (practiced during elementary and junior high school years)
Specialties
- Ski Jumping
- Ballet
Motto
Private
5. Works & records
| Category | Title | Role | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Competition | FIS Ski Jumping World Cup Overall | Champion (4 times: 2012–13, 2013–14, 2015–16, 2016–17 seasons) | 2013 |
| Competition | FIS World Championships — Women's Normal Hill Individual | Silver Medal | 2013 |
| Competition | FIS World Championships — Mixed Team | Gold Medal | 2013 |
| Competition | PyeongChang Winter Olympics — Women's Normal Hill Individual | Bronze Medal | 2018 |
6. Links
- Official sitehttps://www.saratakanashi.com/
- Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/sara.takanashi/
- Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%AB%98%E6%A2%A8%E6%B2%99%E7%BE%85
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.