Unstoppable Prevc soars to hill record and fifth straight victory

Jan 16, 2026·Ski Jumping

Nika Prevc (SLO) landed on top of the podium for the fifth time in a row (archive picture) - FIS/ActionPress

Nika Prevc (SLO) underlined her current dominance with a fifth successive World Cup win, soaring to victory with a spectacular large hill record of 136.5m in Zhangjiakou, China, on Friday.

The Crystal Globe leader produced the record jump in the first round to build an 11.7-point advantage, before sealing the win with a commanding 23.7-point lead over Nozomi Maruyama (JPN) after her second jump.

Two-time world champion Prevc, who secured her 10th victory of the season and 32nd overall, attained a combined score of 245.6 points after her second-round jump of 130.0m saw her score 121.8 points. Despite a half-hour delay at the start due to strong winds, the 20-year-old Slovenian delivered two impressive jumps on the Beijing 2022 Olympic hill, extending her lead in the Crystal Globe standings to 380 points over runner-up Maruyama.

“The win means a lot to me”, Prevc said afterward. “Yesterday and today, I’ve been enjoying jumps on this hill. (Setting) The hill record is always good. I really like these kind of achievements."

"I feel great, mostly because I'm enjoying long jumps here. Tomorrow, I want to do three more long jumps”, she added.

Maruyama back on the podium

Meanwhile, Maruyama returned to the World Cup podium for the first time since 31 December.

The Japanese breakthrough star, who landed on the podium in nine World Cup events so far this season, skipped last week’s events in Ljubno (SLO) to focus on the Asia leg of the World Cup tour.

The 27-year-old came back in form with a 127.5m first jump which saw her score 112.1 points, before adding a 124.5m jump (and 109.8 points) for a combined total of 221.9 points.

Freitag finishes third again

Selina Freitag (GER) rounded out the podium, moving up from fourth place after round one (105.7 points) to second with her second jump (109.5 points).

For Freitag, it’s her fourth third-place finish of 2026. "I'm quite happy about today", Freitag said. "I performed my best two jumps on the hill today, so I'm super happy that helped me reach the podium again."

The 24-year-old German finished just ahead of home favourite Zeng Ping (CHN), who sat in third place after the first round on home-snow in Zhangjiakou (128m and 105.8 points). Although Zeng travelled 127.5m in the second round, her low execution score dropped her to fourth.

Anna Odine Stroem (NOR) rounded out the top five, ahead of Sara Takanashi and Ringo Miyajima (both JPN). Lisa Eder (AUT), who finished in second at the last four World Cup events, did not manage to reach the podium this time around. Eder landed in ninth.

2022 Olympic silver medallist Katharina Schmid (GER), who won both events in Zhangjiakou last time the World Cup was held there (in 2024), finished 12th.

The women compete again on Saturday morning, before heading to Japan.