Stroem soars to Olympic Normal Hill gold as Prevc takes silver in thriller

There was high drama on the Olympic Normal Hill in Predazzo as Anna Odine Stroem (NOR) won the first Ski Jumping gold of Milano Cortina 2026, beating favorite Nika Prevc (SLO) by just 1.1pts. Stroem led from start to finish with jumps of 100m and 101m to earn 267.3pts. World Cup leader Prevc took silver after jumps of 98m and 99.5m, ahead of Nozomi Maruyama (JPN) in bronze.   

“I still haven’t quite realised it, I’m shook. It’s amazing!” said Stroem as she was hoisted onto her teammates’ shoulders in celebration. She’s the second Norwegian to win this event, following Maren Lundby at PyeongChang 2018.

All the talk leading up to the Games had been about Crystal Globe leader Prevc, but her first round effort scored 135.9pts - one point behind Stroem and just 0.2pts ahead of Maruyama. The Slovenian’s final jump guaranteed her at least silver as she improved her lead over the Japanese to 4.4pts. But Stroem held her nerve to secure her first Olympic title at her second Winter Games.

"I still need some time to think about what went on today," said Prevc.

Maruyama was thrilled with bronze.

"It has been a really good season. I actually proved myself right to the end and to win a bronze medal was really down to the strength of my endurance.

Lisa Eder (AUT), currently third in the World Cup standings, finished fourth with jumps of 95m and 100m for a total of 257.3pts. The double World Cup winner in Willingen, Eirin Maria Kvandal (NOR), landed 99.5m and 98m for fifth place.

Beijing 2022 bronze medalist and three-time Olympian Nika Vodan (SLO) finished 8th with jumps of 95m and 94.5m, while a raucous contingent of Polish fans celebrated Anna Twardosz (POL). Her jumps of 96m and 93.5m earned her 240.5pts to finish 10th - Poland’s best-ever Olympic result in the Women’s Normal Hill.

Two-time Olympic Normal Hill silver medalist Katharina Schmid (GER) earned 234.1pts in her final Games before retirement to finish 16th. Annika Sieff (ITA) - who grew up close to Predazzo and switched to Ski Jumping from Nordic Combined to compete at her home Olympics - was roared on by the Italian fans as she jumped 96m and 99m to finish 19th with 226.6pts.

There are two more medal chances still to come thanks to the expanded programme for Women’s Ski Jumping. The Mixed Team event returns for its second Olympics on Tuesday, before the first-ever Women’s Large Hill race on Sunday 15.