Prevc peerless in Planica as Tschofenig claims Crystal Globe

World champion Domen Prevc (SLO) fought back to claim top-spot on the Planica World Cup podium as Daniel Tschofenig (AUT) delivered himself a perfect birthday present, by claiming the first FIS Ski Jumping Crystal Globe of his career.

Prevc trailed fellow host-nation star Anze Lanisek (SLO) by 4.2 points after the opening round which saw the double Lahti World Cup winner record the only +240m jump of the contest, measured at 242m.

However, Lanisek was unable to build on his impressive first leap and Prevc’s 237.5m effort, added to his earlier 234.5m jump, gave him an event winning total of 459.1 points.

Lanisek (454.8) took second, with Olympic champion Ryoyu Kobayashi of Japan (444.1) continuing his strong finish to the season, with third.

“After so many years I’m so happy I finally achieved this victory in this spectacular venue in front of home fans,” said Prevc after his third individual win of the season.

Tschofenig attained a total just 0.5 points short of the podium places, but it was of little concern for the Four Hills Tournament winner as his result, combined with an eighth-place finish for nearest overall rival Jan Hoerl (AUT), saw him claim the Crystal Globe trophy.

The achievement was made all the more special given it came on the day he celebrated turning 23-years-old.

“Winning the Crystal Globe today is amazing, stunning, I really have no words,” he told FIS.

“The first flight was okay, the second jump was really good and getting the crowd on top was amazing and it’s been such a good day.”

While Lanisek and Prevc looked well-placed to fight for top-spot on the podium after the opening round of the first of three World Cup events, on the final weekend of the 2024/25 FIS Ski Jumping campaign, the battle for third had a number of contenders.

Kobayashi held a slender, 0.2 point, lead over the 2023/24 Crystal Globe winner Stefan Kraft (AUT), with Tschofenig fifth and winner of qualifying, Andreas Wellinger (GER) each with realistic prospects in favorable conditions.

Hoerl was down in tenth and aware his hopes of denying Tschofenig the overall title looked remote at best, but he would at least climb two places after a strong final jump of 227m.

Tschofenig’s 233.5m ended any remote ambitions Hoerl had and it looked as though that might give the ‘birthday boy’ a podium finish, until Kobayashi’s phenomenal 239.5m.

Prevc’s 237.5m guaranteed him a medal and while Lanisek, who went last, hoped he could soar past that mark, he would manage just 227.5m, but it was enough for home fans to celebrate a Slovenian one-two finish and the nation’s sixth successive World Cup win.

The field will now return to the HS240 hill on Saturday for the final team event of the season, where Slovenia will again be strong favorites, before the 2024/25 campaign concludes with one last men’s individual World Cup, on Sunday.

Planica World Cup Program

29 March
09:30 - Start Competition - Men's Team FH
30 March
09:30 - Start Competition - Men's Individual FH

*all times are displayed in Central European Time (CET) and are subject to change.