Deschwanden in dreamland as he wins first World Cup

After 309 individual starts and more than 14 years on the circuit, Gregor Deschwanden (SUI) has finally reached the top of the World Cup podium. The Swiss reigned supreme on a day of big surprises in Oslo (NOR), landing jumps of 132.5m and 130.5m to secure a long-awaited first World Cup victory at the age of 35. The milestone win comes just weeks after he claimed his first Olympic medal at Milano Cortina 2026. It's also Switzerland's first World Cup victory in more than 4,000 days.

“I’m so glad I made it finally!” laughed Deschwanden.

“I had to fight again but I’m really glad I made two good jumps and the luck was on my side. My jumps just had a good level and sometimes I struggled a bit with landing but it was good enough today.

Maximilian Ortner (AUT) recorded his best-ever World Cup result in second - his first podium of this season and the third of his career overall. He led after the first round with 136.3pts and almost snatched the victory from Deschwanden with a final jump of 126.5m. But his final total of 261.7pts was 1.4pts short.

Naoki Nakamura (JPN) won the battle for third with a final jump of 129m, beating Daniel Tschofenig (AUT) into fourth by just 0.4pts. Less than five points had separated fourth and tenth after the first round.

Niko Kytosaho (FIN) claimed his best individual World Cup result with sixth, a week after celebrating his first-ever podium in the Men’s Super Team on his home hill in Lahti.

“That last weekend was something, to end it on the podium at home, it gives you a lot of things that you haven’t experienced before. It proved that I could be at the top, so now I know I’m in the mix,” he said.

A day of challenging conditions produced some shocks in the opener, none bigger than Crystal Globe winner Domen Prevc (SLO) failing to qualify for the final. The reigning Olympic, World and Four Hills Champion landed 117.5m to score 105.2pts and finish 42nd.

“I think it was a combination of lots of things. My jump was better than yesterday but maybe I was a bit too aggressive in the second part and then the left ski was gone, so then the jump was over for me,” he analysed.

“If you look at today’s competition lots of guys in the top ten have been in trouble, who normally make great jumps. You cannot blame just one thing it’s not black and white.

Prevc wasn’t the only favorite to struggle. Fellow Olympic Champion Philipp Raimund (GER) also missed out on the top 30, finishing 36 with a jump of 119m. Slovenian teammate Anze Lanisek (SLO) scraped into the top 30 after round one with a jump of 120.5m, before climbing 15 places with a final effort 127.5m to finish 14th. Ryoyu Kobayashi (JPN) lost ground to Tschofenig in the Crystal Globe standings after a 13th place, while compatriot Ren Nikaido (JPN) is up into fourth overall thanks to his fifth place in Oslo.

Competition continues with the second World Cup on Sunday.

Sunday, 15 March:
09:00 – Start Qualification – Men’s LH
16:10 – Competition Start – Men’s LH

*All times are Central European Team (CET) and are subject to change.