Akito Watabe finished second at a Nordic combined World Cup event on Friday, making the podium for the third straight time after two third-place finishes a week earlier.
The 27-year-old topped the rankings with his 107-meter jump scoring 133.2 points but couldn't hold onto his eight-second advantage in the five-kilometer cross-country, losing out to Eric Frenzel of Germany by just over six seconds in Austria.
"There's some gap with Eric on the top speed (in the cross-country)," said Watabe, who hurt his right wrist two weeks ago and admitted to a lack of training. "I'm not good at short distance, but I don't feel I was outdone completely."