Slovenian ski jumper crowned world champion

Slovenian ski jumper Nika Prevc has proved that she is unbeatable this season, winning gold at the Nordic World Ski Championships in Trondheim, Norway, after scooping wins at six straight World Cup events, CE Report quotes The Slovenia Times.

Prevc scored 258.2 points for her jumps of 98 and 100 metres, to pip German Selina Freitag to the world title by 8.4 points. Norway's Anna Odine Stroem won bronze.

The 19-year-old Slovenian placed first in qualifications the day before as well as after the first round of the women's event on the normal hill on 28 February with a slight lead ahead of Stroem.

She excelled at her second jump even more and it was clear immediately after she landed that she would take gold.

"Before the start of the competition I felt pressure, it hit me. You start thinking unintentionally about what could go wrong," Prevc told TV Slovenia.

"I was especially concerned by the first jump, which is probably why it was less relaxed. I am very happy that I made it in the end," she said.

"I don't grow tired of victories, I just want to achieve them," Prevc said, adding that she has wanted to win since she was just a kid watching ski jumping events on TV.

"Now I have my first snowflake," she said, referring to the snowflake-shaped medal.

"Nika takes every competition like it is the only one and then shows us what she can do," head coach Jurij Tepeš said. She showed that she is only human in the first jump and let other competitors get close to her but then she focused and became world champion, Tepeš said.

This is the first world championship medal for Prevc and the nineteenth medal for the country at the Nordic World Ski Championships. It is also the sixth gold medal, all of which were won by ski jumpers.

At the previous world championship in Planica in 2023, the men's team won gold at the team event on the large hill and Timi Zajc took first place in the individual event at the large hill. Before them it was Ema Klinec in 2021, Rok Benkovič in 2005 and Franci Petek in 1991.

Next up for ski jumpers the World Championships in Trondheim is the women's team event at the normal hill on 29 February. "I still have to think some more about tomorrow's event," Prevc said. "If we jump relaxed, we could be quite strong," she said.

Her teammates Ema Klinec and Katra Komar placed 13th and 30th, respectively, today, while Tina Erzar did not make the final round.