Prevc’s ‘jump of the season’ contender secures World Cup win

Reigning Crystal Globe champion Nika Prevc (SLO) delivered a stunning second round jump to climb above first-round leader Anna Odine Stroem (NOR) and claim her fourth victory of the 2025/26 FIS Ski Jumping season.

The two-time World champion had placed second in the first Engelberg (SUI) World Cup contest on Saturday and she has struggled – by her high standards – to attain the style points traditionally delivered in competition.

However, there were no such issues in the second round on Sunday, when the Slovenian expertly managed tricky conditions to produce a leap of 136m, which scored a colossal 149.2 points and helped her attain a confidence-boosting win ahead of the Two Nights Tour.

The wind heavily impacted the performances of some of the top athletes, with Nozomi Maruyama (JPN) missing out on a podium finish for just the second time this season, while Selina Freitag (GER) crashed after landing, denying her a potential top-three finish.

Prevc finished with an overall total of 284.1 points, with Stroem (267.4pts) second, while Germany’s seven-time World champion Katharina Schmid (247.9pts) attained her first podium since early January. 

“I was in a mood with my jumps as the first one wasn’t really good and I did pretty bad landing,” Prevc admitted to FIS after the contest. “Then I was really happy with the second jump as I had a nice landing.

“I’m a really impatient ski jumper and if I don’t feel much head wind I start to be too aggressive and this is when I really need to stay focused so I don’t lose the meters.”

Fluctuating winds across the Gross Titlis Large Hill and surrounding venue made for a challenging contest with event officials doing their best to ensure the competition remained as fair as possible. 

Delays were frequent throughout the two main rounds which followed the morning qualifying round which had seen Prevc top the standings ahead of Stroem and Freitag.

A preview to Maruyama’s struggles perhaps took place in those first competitive jumps, with the Japanese breakthrough star of the season placing 13^th.

Round one, of course. presented the top-40 qualifiers with a fresh start and the 2024/25 Crystal Globe runner-up Freitag looked well-placed to challenge for her first podium of the season after showing further evidence of her recent improved form, ranking in third.

In the second round, two-time Olympic medal-winning team-mate Schmid, who has been seeking a top-three result for nearly a year, delivered an outstanding effort of 134.5m, to put the pressure on her fellow German jumper.

Freitag followed and knew she would need a significant jump herself to go back ahead of her countrywoman. It was long enough, with 138m further than any other athletes managed across the two rounds, but her landing was unstable and the subsequent fall cost her vital points.

Stroem, who is the only female ski jumper to win a World Cup other than Prevc and Maruyama this season, performed well in both rounds and led her Slovenian rival following a jump which was 4m further than Prevc’s in the opening round.

While the double World champion was ultimately too strong across the whole contest, the Norwegian will certainly take confidence from her fourth top-three result of the campaign and strengthened her position of third in the overall World Cup standings.

The result cuts Maruyama’s lead at the top of the overall World Cup standings, but it remains a sizeable 94 points ahead of Prevc.

The pair set will next renew their rivalry at the Two Hills Tour which takes place across 30-31 December in Garmisch-Partenkirchen (GER), before concluding in Oberstdorf (GER) on the first day of 2026.

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

21.12.2025
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.