Ski Jumpers set for pre-Olympic Sapporo showdown

Jan 21, 2026·Ski Jumping

Lisa Eder became only the fifth ski jumper to top a World Cup or Two Nights Tour podium during the 2025/26 campaign following victory in Zao - ActionPress / FIS

The best female ski jumpers on the planet will contest their penultimate World Cup event ahead of Milano-Cortina 2026 at a former Olympic Winter Games venue, Sapporo, which will bring to a close the Japanese legs of the 2025/26 season.

Following the dramatic conclusion to the Zao World Cup on Wednesday, which saw Lisa Eder (AUT) claim the first World Cup victory of her career, those ‘doing the double’ will have less than 48 hours between the events before training and qualifying commences on Friday.

The ski jumpers will then take on two individual World Cup contests across Saturday and Sunday.

“It was so cool to celebrate my first World Cup victory, it was really wonderful and I didn’t know I had so many emotions inside me,” said Eder, after taking the title in Zao.

“I hope it continues like this; now it’s off to Sapporo, I finished second there last year and know the hill well.”

Around 800km separates the two Japanese jumping venues and while fatigue may well be a factor when it comes to performance, Zao and Sapporo, which hosted the 1972 Winter Olympics, can be travelled between via a 90-minute flight.

“I know I’ll have a harder time on a Large Hill and that everything will have to come together more perfectly for me to be able to compete at the front, but I’ll give it my best shot, said Eder, who attained a second-place finish in Sapporo last season.

Her success in Zao saw her became just the sixth Austrian woman in history to win a Women’s Ski Jumping World Cup event though; following Daniela Iraschko-Stolz, Eva Pinkelnig, Chiara Kreuzer, Marita Kramer and Jacqueline Seifriedsberger.

Victory also strengthened her position in the overall World Cup standings, in third, behind Crystal Globe leader Nika Prevc (SLO) and Nozomi Maruyama (JPN).

The Slovenian star has dominated the last two World Cup seasons, picking up wins in 17 different venues, but has never attained a top-three result in Sapporo, with her best a sixth-place finish last season.

Were the 20-year-old to top the Sapporo standings it would see her tie the all-time record held by Sara Takanashi (JPN), who has attained victories in 18 World Cup different venues.

Maruyama won the first Zao World Cup contest and will again be among the favourites for success on another home hill, despite placing eight in Zao’s second World Cup event.

Other important ones-to-watch include the German duo Selina Freitag and Agnes Reisch who have been showing strong form so far this month, as has Abigail Strate (CAN) and Anna Odine Stroem (NOR), while Josephine Pagnier (FRA) finished an encouraging sixth in Zao.