Zeng Ping chases historic victory on home snow in Zhangjiakou

Jan 15, 2026·Ski Jumping

Zeng Ping in action (archive picture) - FIS/ActionPress

With the Olympic Games less than a month away, the world’s best female ski jumpers will get into Olympic mood as World Cup action heads to the iconic Snow Ruyi hill in Zhangjiakou (CHN), a site remembered by many from the Beijing 2022 Olympic Games. Nika Prevc (SLO) will look to continue her winning ways, while home favorite Zeng Ping (CHN) targets a historic result on home snow.

Zeng could become the first Chinese athlete to win a World Cup event in one of the four traditional FIS disciplines (Alpine Skiing, Cross-Country Skiing, Nordic Combined, Ski Jumping).

The Chinese breakthrough star already made history at the beginning of 2026 when she became the first-ever Chinese ski jumper to reach the World Cup podium after she finished second in Oberstdorf on 1 January, her 21st birthday. At home, Zeng is looking to go one better.

It’s the second time Zhangjiakou hosts a Ski Jumping World Cup, after two women’s events in December 2024.

Back then, Katharina Schmid (GER) did the double and celebrated two victories at the venue she has fond memories of after claiming silver at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Games.

Schmid, who will retire at the end of the 2025/26 season, is slowly getting back into form after claiming third place in Ljubno (SLO) last weekend and is in the mix for another podium finish in China this week. “I really like the hill in Zhangjiakou”, Schmid said earlier. “It suits me quite well, so I hope I am able to show that once more.”

Can Prevc win again?

Two-time Crystal Globe winner Prevc has won the last four World Cup events and is looking to build on her recent success. With 31 World Cup victories under her belt, she recently surpassed Maren Lundby (NOR, 30 wins) on the all-time list. Only Sara Takanashi (JPN) has won more individual events in the women’s competition (63 victories).

The last four women’s World Cup events saw the exact same nations land on the podium: Slovenia (with Prevc), Austria (all Lisa Eder) and Germany (Selina Freitag twice, Agnes Reisch and Katharina Schmid both once).

The same athletes are expected to battle for the podium in Zhangjiakou.

Eder can become the first ski jumper to finish second in five consecutive individual World Cup events. The Austrian, who has collected 12 individual podium finishes so far and finished third in Zhangjiakou in 2024, is still chasing her first-ever World Cup victory.

The same goes for Freitag, who has 17 podium finishes (11 second places and six third places) so far.

Self-confident Freitag is ready

The German is currently in good form with the Olympic Games just around the corner. “It’s impossible not to think about the Games”, Freitag said in recent interviews.

“But once the World Cups get underway, the topic moves a bit more into the background again, since you also want to deliver strong performances there. I'm ready for it", she added.

"Over the years, the World Cups have given me a lot of self-confidence. I’ve become much stronger mentally. I no longer have the ‘rookie-protection’ and have established myself in ski jumping and made a name for myself. That has a positive effect on my self-confidence.”

Besides Prevc, Zeng, Schmid, Freitag and Eder, another ski jumper to look out for would be Nozomi Maruyama (JPN), who has finished on the podium in nine World Cup events so far, but has yet to reach the podium in 2026.

Maruyama, who missed last week’s event in Ljubno (SLO), returns to World Cup action in Zhangjiakou, hoping to land on the podium for the first time this year.

In the Crystal Globe standings, Prevc (1266 points) has a 300-point lead over runner-up Maruyama (966 points), while Eder sits in third with 819 points.