Ahonen jumped his first World Cup on December 30, 1983 in Oberstdorf . However, he finished the jumping as 78th and last. It was only in Bischofshofen on January 6, 1984 that he was able to successfully win his first World Cup points in 13th place. Two weeks later he finished second in the two World Cup competitions in Sapporo, Japan . At the end of the 1983/84 World Cup season , he was in 20th place in the overall World Cup ranking.