Slovenia secures Olympic gold in mixed team ski jumping

Slovenia has defended its Olympic gold medal in the mixed team ski jumping event at the 2026 Winter Games.

Nika Vodan, Anže Lanišek, Nika Prevc and Domen Prevc dominated what was the second such competition at the Olympics following a successful debut at Beijing 2022, earning their country its second medal in Milano Cortina, CE Report quotes The Slovenia Times.

Slovenia scored 1,069.2 points at the 10 February competition, 30.9 points more than the silver-medallist Norway and 35.2 points more than the bronze-medallist Japan.

For the men's part of the team, Domen Prevc and Anže Lanišek, this is their first Olympic medal, while Nika Prevc already picked up silver in the women's normal hill individual event on 7 February.

Meanwhile, Nika Vodan is the only member of this year's line-up who was also part of the Olympic champion team in 2022. At the time she was known by her maiden name Križnar, and her teammates were Domen and Nika Prevc's older brother Peter, Urša Bogataj and Timi Zajc.

The latest medal marks a special milestone for the Prevc ski jumping dynasty, which features four ski jumpers, either retired or active. All four of them are now the proud owners of at least one Olympic medal.

Talking to the Slovenian public broadcaster, the 2026 gold medallists stressed the importance of team spirit as they praised each other and the team behind them.

Domen Prevc said that he could not remember when was the last time he was as nervous as he was during this competition.

"It [an Olympic medal] is the biggest thing you can achieve in sport. So many things have to come together for athletes to win gold at a mixed team event. This is truly something incredible."

Nika Vodan agreed, saying the jumps by all four of them were incredible, while Nika Prevc, the current World Cup leader, who was initially disappointed that she did not win gold during the individual event, said she now finds both medals, the golden and the silver, to be equally beautiful because of all the effort she has put in to win them.

"It feels special to share this moment with my brother," she added. Lanišek also noted the amount of work and sacrifice that goes into achieving such a goal. "This gold medal means so much to me," he said.

Robert Hrgota, the head coach of the men's team, told TV Slovenija that the lads were more relaxed this time around compared to the men's normal hill individual event a day earlier, where Prevc, the current overall leader in the World Cup rankings, finished sixth and Lanišek 26th.

This was a well-deserved win, with the women's part of the line-up also doing their share to defend the gold medal, he said.

Vodan was the first Slovenian to compete in the mixed team event and she made sure Slovenia took the lead from the get-go. Hrgota pointed out that she usually performs well in this starting role, and Jurij Tepeš, the head coach of the women's team agreed, adding that every coach wishes to experience such a competition scenario as the one seen today.

The gold medallists will have another go at a medal as the men's large hill individual event is scheduled for 14 February and the women's for 15 February. Male ski jumpers will also take part in the super team event, a new format featuring two-person line-ups that replaces the traditional four-person team competition.

Photo: Matej Družnik/Delo/STA