Maruyama’s skills and style secure fifth World Cup success

Nozomi Maruyama (JPN) added another victory to her stunning breakthrough season following a dramatic comeback success over world champion and closest rival Nika Prevc (SLO).

The Slovenian, who has claimed the last two Crystal Globe titles, won the second World Cup in Klingenthal last weekend, 24 hours after her Japanese opponent had succeeded in the first.

Prevc topped the standings in qualifying and again at the halfway stage in Switzerland and while both achieved jumps of the same distance, 134m, in the second round, Maruyama’s greater style points saw her top the podium.

She attained an overall points total of 274.9, with Prevc (273.2pts) second and Anna Odine Stroem of Norway (267.0pts) in third.

"There was a five-point-gap betweeen Nika (Prevc) and me after the first round so she put quite a bit of pressure on me, but the judging points for the second round made it a good day for me," Maruyama told FIS.

"I like this hill, the landing is unusual compared to other ski jumps, but tomorrow I will again try hard to do my best."

For Stroem, who is the only athlete other than Maruyama and Prevc to win a women’s World Cup event this season, her top-three result was particularly poignant, given it was on this hill that she suffered a season-ending knee injury back in 2023.

Prevc opened with an astounding 139.5m jump, which gave her a 4.9 point lead over Maruyama, who attained a distance of 131.7m. Only four other athletes hit the 130m mark in the first round with Stroem (132m) the closest contender.

Anges Reisch (GER) was in fourth at this stage, seeking only the second World Cup podium finish and first since February this year. Yuka Seto (JPN), ranked fifth and in contention for her first-ever top-three result at this level of competition.

Both would drop a place in the final standings, with the top-three ultimately able to maintain their dominant position ahead of the chasing pack. 

While no Germany athletes were able to place on the podium in Saturday’s World Cup contest, the team will take particular encouragement from the performances of Selina Freitag and Agnes Reisch, who placed fourth and fifth respectively.

Stroem will take encouragement from a third top-three result of the season, matching her total of World Cup medals from 2024/25 and looking in the kind of form which could see her surpass her best-ever campaign in 2023/24, when she placed achieved ten.

Maruyama’s impressive jump execution would ultimately see her overhaul Prevc for her fifth victory of the season and she now holds a 154 point advantage over Slovenia’s leading female ski jumping star in the overall 2025/26 World Cup standings.

Stroem trails the Japanese jumper by 302pts, in third.

"I was nervous and made an unnecessary mistake on my telemark landing," Prevc told FIS.

"Tomorrow I have another chance for two nice jumps and for me the biggest challenge is staying patient after take-off."

The field will again jump from the iconic Gross Titlis Large Hill on Sunday for the second Engelberg World Cup contest.

FIS SKI JUMPING WORLD CUP – ENGELBERG (SUI) SCHEDULE:

20.12.2025
16:00 – Competition Start – World Cup Men’s LH

21.12.2025
10:15 – Start Qualification – QUA Women’s LH
11:30 – Competition Start – World Cup Women’s LH
14:30 – Start Qualification – QUA Men’s LH
16:00 – Competition Start – World Cup Men’s LH

All times listed in CET and are subject to change.