SOCHI, RUSSIA ¨C Sara Takanashi, the favorite for the gold medal in the inaugural Olympic women¡¯s normal hill ski jump on Tuesday night, was kept off the podium after a disappointing effort at the RusSki Gorki Jumping Center.

After winning 10 of the 13 World Cup events this season, Takanashi, 17, was a prohibitive favorite to claim Japan¡¯s second gold in any winter sport since the 1998 Nagano Games, but she came in fourth.

Germany¡¯s Carina Vogt claimed the gold with a total of 247.4 points. Austria¡¯s Daniela Iraschko-Stolz took the silver with 246.2, while France¡¯s Coline Mattel earned the bronze with 245.2.

Takanashi was in third place heading into the final round. She finished with a total of 243.0.

She leaped exactly 100 meters in the first round but could manage only a disappointing 98.5 in the final round. ¡°I couldn¡¯t jump the way I wanted to on both attempts,¡± said Takanashi. ¡°In Japan the jumps are really different. I did my best.

¡°I came here wanting to do my best. I¡¯m incredibly disappointed,¡± she added. ¡°I tried to think as I always do, but something went wrong. I became uptight and I just wasn¡¯t as sharp as I usually am. I have realized my mental weakness.¡±

Yuki Ito finished seventh with 241.8 points.

Takanashi wept after the final scores were announced. ¡°All kinds of emotions just flowed out,¡± she said. ¡°I thought about all the people who supported me up to this point.¡±

Despite the setback, Takanashi is already looking ahead. ¡°If I get a chance, I want to come back to the Olympics a much more polished ski jumper,¡± she said.

Asked if there was something else she wanted to do besides ski jumping, Takanashi was adamant, replying: ¡°There is nothing I want to do except for ski jumping. My career has been developing with the whole ski jumping movement in Japan. I¡¯m grateful to everyone that helped me.¡±