Domen Prevc continues his winning streak with the longest jumps in both series

The younger of the Prevc brothers was also number one in the trial run

Domen Prevc Foto: EPA

Domen Prevc ended up with a third win at the fourth ski jumping competition of the season. The 17-year-old ace managed to jump past the 140-meter mark twice and was the best competitor at the first Lillehammer event.

The youngest of the Prevc brothers was also number one in the trial run and is in fantastic form. His Lillehammer jumps were exceptionally long, except in the qualifying round. There, he made a mistake, but because he was the overall leader, that jump was for practice only. His other jumps were all outstanding. He confirmed his excellent form during the competition itself and ended up with a significant lead after the first jump. With a distance of 142.5 meters, he had a ten-point lead ahead of his closest challenger, the hometown hero Daniel Andre Tande. Stefan Kraft, whose jump of 137 meters came closest to Domen Prevc’s distance, was in third place.

The Austrian and the Norwegian also performed well in the final series, when they made their bids for victory with jumps of 135.5 meters and 137.5 meters, respectively. However, Prevc performed exceptionally even in difficult conditions. In his aggressive style, he soared towards the bottom of the ski jump and ended up with a distance of 141.5 meters. He had some difficulties during the landing, but still managed to pull off an impressive lead. He celebrated the first Slovenian win in this Norwegian Olympic town – the 62^nd win overall for Slovenia. The Polish duo of Kamil Stoch and Maciej Kot once again barely missed a podium position.

While Domen is enjoying his winning streak, his brother Cene is also improving in form and is raking in wins in the Continental Cup in Vikersund, less than three hours away. Peter Prevc, however, is struggling to recover from his dip in form. Even Mondays’ practice rounds in Klingenthal were not able to help him. All his jumps on the Lysgardsbakken ski jump were poor. He was 23^rd after the first series, and he ended up 30^th in in the final run after a failed jump. Jurij Tepeš was more satisfied; he advanced from 26^th place to 22^nd place in the second series. The remaining Slovenian jumpers had disappointing placings in Lillehammer; they were far from World Cup points. Jaka Hvala was once again eliminated in the qualifying round, while Nejc Dežman (42^nd place) in Anže Lanišek (47^th place) both qualified for the main competition, but did not make it to the final round.

Another competition will take place on Sunday. Next week, the jumpers are headed for Engelberg. That event will be followed by the Four Hills Tournament.

T. J.; Translated by J. B.