‘Motivated’ Prevc wants more success on Ljubno home hill
Feb 13, 2025·Ski Jumping)
Reigning Crystal Globe champion Nika Prevc (SLO) aims to continue her winning streak back in her homeland during the penultimate women’s Ski Jumping World Cup before the 2025 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships.
The Slovenian heads into the event in Ljubno (SLO), which runs from 14-16 February, off the back of recording the first World Cup double of her career in Lake Placid (USA).
It has given her a 201 point advantage in the overall standings from Katharina Schmid (GER), with Eirin Maria Kvandal (NOR) a further 103 points behind the German.
“I did well in the race in the USA, now I'm motivated to show it in Ljubno,” said Prevc, who won the second Ljubno World Cup last season and was second in the first.
Over 50 competitors from 14 nations are expected to take to the HS94 hill during three days of competition at the Savina Ski Jumping Centre, which begins with qualification on 14 February, before separate World Cup events over the weekend.
In addition to Prevc, who has recorded seven World Cup victories this season, another of Slovenia’s leading ski jumpers targeting success in front of home fans is Ema Klinec who made her senior international debut, in the Continental Cup, on the hill in 2011.
“The ski jump has changed a bit (since her debut), but I personally really like the slopes,” Klinec told guests at the pre-event press conference in Ljubno.
“Most of all I'm happy because there are great people here and I'm really looking forward to the competitions.”
Jurij Tepeš, head coach of Slovenia’s women's ski jumping team, added that he hoped the team would have a “good time” in front of home support.
“I am very happy that they (organisers) made it possible for us to train (on the hill ahead of the competition, this is a big part and it will be an advantage in the qualifications.
“We have quite a few new players and the vast majority of the girls, we want to get used to the ski jump as soon as possible.
“I hope the team will be as relaxed as possible before the home matches and for those who are new to take is a challenge. If so, I think we will all have a good time.”
Other nations likely to see their athletes challenge for the podium places will be the likes of Germany, Austria, Norway and potentially Canada, with reigning World champion Alexandria Loutitt beginning to return to the form shown in previous seasons.
Kvandal is undoubtedly the most in-form Norwegian athlete, with eight top-three finishes in her last 10 individual World Cup outings, although Anna Odine Stroem and Thea Minyan Bjoerseth also have strong potential.
While Katharina Schmid is second in the overall rankings, behind Prevc, the German has struggled to replicate her early-season form in recent months, but team-mate Selina Freitag looks to have rediscovered her best, with third and fourth place finishes in Lake Placid.
That competition also saw countrywoman Agnes Reisch claim the first World Cup podium of her career with second in the first of the double-header in the USA.
Austrian trio Jacqueline Seifriedsberger, Eva Pinkelnig and Lisa Eder have all attained multiple top-three results at stages during the current campaign.
Ljubno World Cup Facts & Figures
The first ski jumping competition was held in Ljubno in 1931, but the Savina Ski Jumping Centre officially opened as a venue for elite competition in 1952, following the construction of the HS60 Hill.
It was expanded to become a HS80 hill in the late 1990’s and has undergone two significant redevelopments since, in 2005 and 2015.
Flood damage in late 2023 saw the venue undergo restoration and renovation.
It was a HS95 hill when it first hosted a women’s FIS Ski Jumping World Cup contest in 2012, before it was reclassified as a HS94 hill from 2018 onwards.
In 2016 Maja Vtič became the first Slovenian women to win an individual FIS World Cup event in Ljubno, with Nika Kriznar (2021) and Nika Prevc (2024) the only other female ski jumpers from the host nation to repeat that success.
Sara Takanashi (JPN) holds the women’s records for the most individual wins, with six during her career to date (2013 twice, 2015 twice, 2019 and 2022).
Ljubno World Cup – Program:
14 February
10.15 – Start Trial Round Women’s NH
16.00 - Start Qualification Women’s NH
15 February
10.15 – Start Trial Round Women’s NH
11.30 - Competition Start Women’s NH
16 February
08.30 – Start Qualification Womne’s NH
10.00 - Competition Start Women’s NH
* All listings are in Central European Time (CET) and are subject to change.
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