Expect the unexpected as Men’s Normal Hill lands at Olympics

Reigning Large Hill World Champion, Ski-Flying World Champion, Four Hills winner and current World Cup leader - it’s been an unprecedented 12 months of success for Domen Prevc (SLO). But as the Men’s Olympic Ski Jumping programme gets underway on the Normal Hill in Predazzo, the Slovenian will be only one of many top contenders to win the Milano Cortina 2026 opener.

It’s already been an emotional start to the Winter Olympics for Prevc, who was Slovenia’s flag bearer for the Opening Ceremony alongside sister Nika on Friday night. Milano Cortina is his first Olympics - and he couldn’t be prouder.

"It’s really special to represent Slovenia because we are a country of just two million people,” Prevc explained.

But the dominant force in the race for this year’s Crystal Globe faces a tough challenge to follow sister Nika to his first Olympic podium on the Normal Hill. He has never won a Worlds medal in the event and finished 13th in the only Normal Hill race this season. The Slovenian skipped the first Official Training session in Predazzo before landing jumps of 99m, 99.5m and 101m on Sunday night.

Among the leading rivals for the podium is reigning Olympic Champion Ryoyu Kobayashi (JPN). The Japanese jumper is currently second behind Prevc in the World Cup standings, just ahead of teammate Ren Nikaido (JPN), who will also be fighting for his first Olympic medal.

"The areas for improvement have become quite clear,” said Kobayashi.

The silver and bronze medallists from Beijing 2022 - Manuel Fettner (AUT) and Dawid Kubacki (POL) - are not competing in Predazzo, meaning some new names will reach the podium. One of them could be three-time World Champion Stefan Kraft (AUT), who is only missing an individual Olympic medal from his glittering trophy haul. The Austrian won this season’s only Normal Hill race in Falun (SWE) and finished top of the first Official Training session in Predazzo with a jump of 103m.

Kraft’s Austrian teammate, 2025 Crystal Globe winner Daniel Tschofenig, also hopes to challenge for a medal despite a season of ups and downs.

“The Olympics are always special, they are not as easy as other events. Often the guys who are not necessarily the top favourites have a chance to fight for a medal. 

German duo Philipp Raimund and Felix Hoffmann will also be in the mix. The pair have nine World Cup podiums between them this season and have shown promising form already in Predazzo. Hoffmann topped the second round of Official Training (102.5m) on Thursday, while Raimund led the standings in two of the three training rounds on Sunday (100m, 104m, 106m).

One other name to look out for is Kamil Stoch (POL), who is competing in his sixth and final Winter Olympics. Stoch is Poland’s most successful Olympic Winter athlete with three gold medals and one bronze, but has not featured on the World Cup podium for an individual event since the 2020/21 season. 

"Being an Olympian is important," he said. "But my goal has always been and still is, to be the best. I still know, believe and feel that I'm capable of much more than I'm showing.”

The Milano Cortina 2026 Men’s Normal Hill race begins with the opening round at 19:00 CET on Monday.