A suit violation cost Sara Takanashi her magnificent jump in the ski jumping mixed event on Feb. 7 at the Beijing Olympics and left the Japanese superstar in tears.

But Takanashi won the hearts of her teammates and even her rivals with a gallant second jump, in which she broke down and cried afterward.

The 25-year-old's grittiness earned her praise from her teammates, including Ryoyu Kobayashi. Kobayashi is the same age as Takanashi and they grew up inspiring each other.

He claimed Japan’s first gold medal at the Games by winning the men’s normal hill ski jumping event on Feb. 6.

Kobayashi praised Takanashi for “focusing on her second jump and putting in an excellent performance.”

“I thought she was amazing,” he said.

Takanashi was not the only competitor whose jump was annulled. 

Female jumpers of both medal contenders Germany and Austria also had jumps disqualified over suit violations.

Under the rules, jumpers are required to wear a suit that fits snugly over their bodies to prevent the surface area from stretching and providing an aerodynamic lift.

But in reality, every country's competitors have been using suits that were close to being in violation and it is said that ski jumpers must report their sizes of all body parts.  

Takanashi’s suit was deemed two centimeters larger than legal in the thigh area.

Incredibly, Takanashi wore the same suit in the women’s normal hill ski jumping competition two days ago, in which she finished fourth.

There is a possibility that she lost weight after the individual competition.

A Japanese staffer took the blame, saying, “It is a checking failure on our end.”

Teammate Yuki Ito, 27, refused to blame Takanashi, saying it was not her fault.

She said she wondered if something like this was actually occurring at the Olympics.

"I have never seen a competition that disqualifies so many people," Ito said. "Not even at the World Cups."

Despite the setback, the Japanese team showed surprising resilience, placing fourth in the ski jumping mixed event, the first time that it has been held in the Olympics. 

In the competition, a team of four--two men and two women--compete using their combined points from two jumps each. 

Along with Takanashi, Kobayashi and Ito, the other member of the Japanese team was Yukiya Sato, 26.

With Takanashi's score ruled invalid, the Japanese team was a distant eighth before the start of the second jump.

In the second round, the team made up ground but fell just short of winning a medal. 

If Takanashi were not disqualified and her 124.5-point score were counted, the team’s total points would have been 960.8 and put them in second behind Slovenia, which won the gold medal.

Japan has been medal contenders since mixed team ski jumping was first introduced at the 2013 World Championships. Japan claimed the first ever championship that year.

In 2015 and 2017, Japan won a bronze medal at the World Championships and in 2019 and 2021, finished fifth in the worlds.

In the Olympic competition, Takanashi led off for Japan and recorded a jump of 103 meters, the second best in the 10-team competition. 

But afterward, her first jump was disqualified over the suit violation.

It was the beginning of an eventful and controversial night in the competition.

The top eight teams in the opening round advanced to the second round.

Takanashi broke down crying as she learned the high marks she earned on her first jump were thrown out. 

Her teammates snuggled her and hugged and consoled her.

Kobayashi, who won gold in the men’s individual normal hill event, offered encouragement by saying, “Under these kind of circumstances, we don’t know what will happen.”

He was not wrong.

The Japanese team advanced to the second round. Takanashi led off again for the team and jumped 98.5 meters.

As soon as she landed, she squatted down and was overcome with tears.

Her big jump was followed by Sato, the second jumper, and then Ito.

Kobayashi was the anchor. He posted a 106-meter jump, the longest of the night. He thrust his right fist triumphantly in the air after he landed.

That gave the Japanese team’s total score of 836.3, to put them in fourth.

The difference between Japan and Canada, which won the bronze medal, was 8.3 points, equivalent to 4 meters.

Afterward, Sato said, "This is the result from a battle. I don't want Sara to blame herself for it."

Sato said he admired Takanashi's "strong mind" by the manner in which she collected herself after the disqualification and made the big second jump.

But he added in frustration, "Just for today, I can't forgive the gods."

Afterward, it was not only the Japanese jumpers who consoled Takanashi. Even her rivals hugged her.

Kobayashi said, "It was a rocky contest indeed, but I think it was a very good one."

As for Takanashi, he said, "I gave her many hugs."