Japanese ski jumpers finished in a disappointing sixth place on Tuesday as Germany claimed the first-ever women's team world title at the Nordic World Ski Championships.
The team of Yuki Ito, Kaori Iwabuchi, Nozomi Maruyama and Sara Takanashi finished over 90 points behind favorite Germany, which won the first edition of the women's team competition with 898.9. Austria took silver with 880.3 and Norway won bronze with 876.9.
In the first round of jumps, Takanashi was the only Japanese jumper to breach the 99-meter K-point despite favorable tailwinds, but was docked for a poor landing as the team settled in sixth.
Ito led off with a 104.5-meter jump in the second round, but her compatriots were unable to follow up as Takanashi posted the second-highest final leap with 93.5, the team's fourth-best distance of the day.
"I put a burden on the team with my lack of ability and stood in the way of their success," Takanashi said. "It is really frustrating."
Team Germany, anchored by Katharina Althaus and bolstered by Ramona Straub, came into the event having won both of the women's team World Cup events this season.
Japan won the inaugural women's team events when they were introduced on the World Cup circuit in the 2017-2018 season. The team's highest finish this season was third.
The women's individual competition will be held on Wednesday.
The Japanese men, led by brothers Ryoyu and Junshiro Kobayashi, finished third in their team competition on Sunday and earned Japan's first medal of the tournament.
Around 700 athletes from 60 nations are participating in 21 medal events in the Feb. 19-March 3 Nordic World Ski Championships held in Seefeld and Bergisel in Innsbruck.