The world of ski jumping is waiting to see if triple Olympic gold medalist Kamil Stoch will recover from an ankle injury in time for Beijing but even if fit the Pole faces a daunting task in holding off the challenge of Japan's Ryoyu Kobayashi.

Stoch won both individual golds in 2014, successfully defending the large hill title in 2018 and also adding a team bronze, but he has struggled for form this season and suffered a major setback when sustaining his injury on Jan. 12.

He is currently undergoing a fast-track recovery regime but the chances of another gold or even a podium place in a sport where big event surprises are no surprise are starting to look slim.