Widhoelzl leads after first round

 HAKUBA, Japan (AP) -- Austria's Andreas Widhoelzl, winner of the bronze medal on the smaller hill, soared to 131 meters to take the first-round lead in the Olympic 120-meter ski jump.
 That leap in almost windless conditions Sunday (Satuday night EST) was only a half-meter short of the hill record. And boosted by good style points, including two perfect 20s from the Finnish and Swedish judges, the Austrian totaled 138.8 points to put him in a strong position for the gold and again disappoint some 30,000 Japanese fans.
 Takanobu Okabe, jumping far earlier than the biggest names in the competitions, came up with a leap of 130 meters to gain second place with 134 points for the host nation's top score.
 The three medalists from Wednesday's 90m event were in the top four.
 Finland's Jani Soininen, winner of that competition, placed third with 130.6 after a leap of 129.5 and World Cup leader Kazuyoshi Funaki, the small-hill silver medalist, was fourth with 129.8 after stretching to 126 meters.
 Funaki tumbled on landing during his final practice jump but got up smiling and playfully tossed a snowball into the crowd.
 Masahiko Harada, Japan's other leading medal candidate who is seeking to make up for Olympic flops both here and at Lillehammer in 1994, placed sixth behind Norway's Lasse Ottesen after modest style points, added to a good jump of 120 meters, gained a score of 117.
 Three jumpers who were considered candidates for a medal didn't make it to the second round after failing to reach the top 30.
 They included Janne Ahonen, fourth-place finisher in the 90m, who was 37th after a leap of 106 meters; Japan's Hiroya Saito, 47th after reaching 100 meters; and Germany's Sven Hannavald, 48th, also at 100.

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