Ski jumper Noriaki Kasai says he'll stay in the sport for as long as he can after becoming the oldest points scorer at the FIS Ski Jumping World Cup.
The sportsman was 51 years 290 days old when he earned the record at the 2024 event, where he also extended his own record for most individual starts in FIS Ski Jumping World Cup competitions to 578.
And those aren't the only history making records he's secured at the prestigious contest, as he also became the oldest individual medallist at the FIS Ski Jumping World Cup in 2017 when he was 44 years 293 days old.
When we presented him with his new certificates, Kasai joked he doesn't have enough room at home to hang them all.
He holds a total of six record titles, as he also has the most Winter Olympic appearances by an athlete (8), the most appearances in FIS Nordic World Ski Championships by an individual ski jumper (13), and is the oldest Ski Jumping World Cup event winner (42 years 176 days).
The last time the GWR team presented certificates to Kasai was in 2018, so we asked him whether he knew back then that he would still remain a player in his 50s. His answer was a resounding "yes".
"I still had a lot left in me. So my intention is to keep on with it until 60."
Kasai began ski jumping when he was nine; he lived right in front of a ski field that had four ski jump platforms. While he initially had to conquer the fear of jumping, it was not long until he was hooked.
"How do I jump? How do I then jump further? Trying to figure out difficult things like that was a lot of fun."
Part of the reason why he is still in the game is because that journey to the perfect jump is not over.
I've come to the conclusion that ski jumping is terribly difficult. That is precisely why I want to continue.
Despite being over 50, Kasai doesn't feel old physically. Younger athletes often ask him why he doesn't get tired after all the training. His mind is in good shape as well.
Part of the reason for that is running. Although he's entered his off-season, Kasai continues running to keep up the good momentum from the previous season.
"You not only lose weight and gain endurance, you get power to persevere. I also think about a lot of things while running, like how to improve my jump, or imagining about what to do when I win."
His ultimate goal has always been getting the Olympic gold. However, the thing that drives him is the people who cheer him on.
"No matter where I go in Japan, people have been positive and encouraging about my work. That makes me so happy and makes me work harder. I realized in my 40s that that is my motivation."
Kasai also changed his mindset about Guinness World Records titles. In the past, records came with him after good results. But now, he is more conscious about breaking records.
"In World Cup matches, you don't get recorded as being in the game unless you get through the qualification phase. In the recent World Cup (February), I was on the edge of getting in or out of qualifying. During that point, I was really conscious that if I got through, then I would have a new record in the bag. I really wanted it. From that point on, I feel strongly about breaking more records."
Kasai's next major goals are to enter the World Cup in 2025 in Norway and the Winter Olympic Games in 2026. If he achieves any of these, it would be a new record title for him.
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