Ski Jumping World Cup season preview 2024/25
Nov 20, 2024·Ski Jumping)
Reigning FIS Ski Jumping World Cup crystal globe winners Stefan Kraft and Nika Prevc will be among those looking to make strong starts to their 2024/25 campaigns at the season-opener in Lillehammer, Norway.
The Lysgårdsbakken venue, which was created for the 1994 Olympic Winter Games, will host the first of three Mixed Team competitions this season on 22 Nov. The World’s best male and female ski jumpers will then take on two individual World Cup competitions, across 23-24 Nov.
Despite weather conditions across Europe leading to a lack of snow in certain areas, organisers in Norway are well prepared for potential challenges and created a snow depot last winter.
This will be utilised for the first World Cup in Lillehammer to ensure athletes have the best-possible opportunity to deliver a spectacular start to the 2024/25 FIS Ski Jumping campaign.
Among the key events to look out for this season are the men’s prestigious 4-Hills Tournament, (29 Dec – 6 Jan), the women’s emerging ‘Two Nights Tour’ (31 Dec and 1 Jan), the World Championships in Trondheim, Norway (25 Feb – 9 March) and the respective World Cup Finals.
For the women this will take place in Lahti, Finland (20-21 March), with the men finishing around a week later in Planica, Slovenia (28-30 March).
WHO TO WATCH – MEN
Stefan Kraft (AUT) provided further evidence of his growing ‘legendary’ status in the sport last season by claiming the overall crown, for the third time in his career, whilst he also became the all-time leading individual World Cup podium finisher.
In January he overtook the previous landmark record of 108 - held by Finland’s seven-time Olympian Janne Ahonen - and by the 2023/24 campaign Kraft had extended that to 118.
The 31-year-old, who won gold as part of the men’s Large Hill Team line-up at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games, has also demonstrated impressive FIS Grand Prix form recently.
He was victorious in the opening two Large Hill events in Courchevel, France, in August, before going on to finish second overall in the series, which concluded last month.
It is also worth noting that Kraft won both the Normal Hill HS98 and Large Hill HS140 events in Lillehammer last season and finished second (2021/22) as well as first (2020/21) in previous campaigns, suggesting he will likely be a clear favourite for individual success again.
Kobayashi Ryōyū (JPN) enjoyed stunning success at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games where he claimed individual Normal Hill gold and Large Hill silver.
After Kraft he was the most consistent performer during the 2023/24 season, claiming 15 podium finishes to rank second overall.
In April he recorded an incredible 291m ski jump as part of a Red Bull event which saw him perform from a tailor-made hill, which was larger than those used in official competitions.
Kraft, for reference, still holds the official FIS world record with his in-competition jump of 253.5m in Vikersund (NOR) back in 2017 and the on-going rivalry between the pair is expected to be one of the highlights of the new season.
Andreas Wellinger (GER) is a four-time Olympic medallist who secured gold medals at Sochi 2014 (team) and PyeongChang 2018 (individual).
While it may be over six years since he last claimed an Olympic honour the German still offers plenty of podium potential.
Last season he claimed individual silver, as well as mixed team gold, at the World Championships and finished third on the overall FIS Ski Jumping World Cup circuit.
Most recently the now 29-year-old claimed victory in the penultimate FIS Grand Prix in Hinzenbach, Austria and was part of the German foursome who secured a thrilling Grand Prix final Mixed Team title last month.
Marius Lindvik (NOR) is a well-known name on the circuit with his most notable season to date coming in 2021/22 when he claimed the Olympic Large Hill gold and FIS Fly Skiing World title.
The Norwegian also placed third in the overall World Cup standings that year, but he has struggled to replicate that form in the subsequent two seasons, placing 20th and eighth respectively.
He began to show glimpses of his undoubted talent again during the Grand Prix season, where he impressively won each of the three events he competed in and Lindvik says he is “optimistic” about his prospects during the winter season.
Markus Eisenbichler (GER), a six-time World champion, will return to the World Cup circuit after a year competing in the second-tier Continental Cup competition.
The 33-year-old won the last of his 28 individual World Cup podiums in January 2023, but struggled with consistency and finished that season ranked 15th overall.
It was speculated that the Beijing 2022 Olympic Large Hill team bronze medallist might retire from the sport, but he has battled on and claimed a place in the German squad for the season-opener.
WHO TO WATCH – WOMEN
There is only one place to begin, with the reigning World Cup champion Nika Prevc of Slovenia who enjoyed a stunning breakthrough season and claimed the crystal globe less than a week after turning 19.
With question marks surrounding the future of the nation’s double Olympic champion Urša Križnar (née Bogataj), who won double gold at Beijing 2022 before suffering an injury and then taking time out of the sport to become a mother, Prevc’s arrival is more than welcome.
She won her first World junior title at the age of 16 in 2022 and while she had a best placing of 17th at the senior World Championships a year later, two impressive individual European Games silver medals soon followed, proving her progress.
Few would have predicted quite how much of an impact she would have on the circuit last season though, with Prevc claiming seven victories enroute to the overall title in just her third year on the World Cup tour.
Eva Pinkelnig (AUT) is at the other end of the experience spectrum and made her debut on the FIS World Cup circuit back in 2016, but the 36-year-old proved she still has major medal-winning potential with six victories last season.
It helped her to second in the overall rankings, a remarkable achievement given she overcame a traumatic brain injury (2016) and ruptured spleen (2020) in accidents which could have ended her career many years ago.
The Austrian, who is one of the stars of the new documentary ‘Seven Seconds. The Dream of Flying’ will be looking to apply a little pressure on her younger rival, Prevc, this season.
Many within the sport are backing Eirin Maria Kvandal to provide Pinkelnig and Prevc with stern tests over the next five months.
The 22-year-old Norwegian made strong progress in 2023/24 by attaining 10 podium finishes.
She was particularly impressive in the latter stages of her campaign, recording three World Cup wins.
Katharina Schmid (née Althaus) is a seven-time world champion who has claimed individual NH silver at the last two Winter Olympic Games and therefore another strong contender.
The German is also the reigning Normal Hill world champion from 2023, but she finished tenth overall in the World Cup last season, her lowest since placing 12th in 2015/16.
She warmed up for her 2024/25 campaign with three victories and the overall title on the FIS Ski Jumping Intercontinental Cup circuit and will aim to take that momentum into the World Cup campaign. Schmid has finished as the runner up a record three times
No ‘ones-to-watch’ piece ahead of a women’s FIS Ski Jumping World Cup season would be complete without a mention of legendary champion Sara Takanashi.
The Japanese skier became the sport’s first-ever Youth Olympic champion back in 2012 and has continued to achieve landmark successes ever since.
She holds the record for the most overall World Cup crystal globes, with four, and her number of event victories – 63 – is more than double the next highest, which stands at 30, achieved by the now retired PyeongChang 2018 Olympic champion Maren Lundby.
Takanashi is still only 28, but the last of her overall titles came back in 2016/17 and she placed 20th in the normal hill event at the last World Championships.
It suggests her strongest days may be behind her, however, a strong summer season, which included a Grand Prix victory, proves Takanashi still has the ability to challenge for honours.
MEN’S SEASON – IN BRIEF
Following the conclusion of the opening World Cup in Lillehammer, Norway, the men will head to Ruka, Finland (30 Nov-1 Dec), before taking in contests across Wisla, Poland (7-8 Dec), Titisee-Neustadt, Germany (13-15 Dec) and Engelberg, Switzerland (21-22 Dec).
The first action after Christmas will see the start of the prestigious 4-Hills Tournament with competitors taking to the skies in the German venues Oberstdorf (29 Dec) and Ga-Partenkirchen (1 Jan). The second half of the competition will take place in the Austrian settings of Innsbruck (4 Jan) and Bischofshofen (6 Jan).
From late January through February the male ski jumpers will head Willingen, Germany (31 Jan – 2 Feb), Lake Placid, USA (8-9 Feb) and Sapporo, Japan (15-16 Feb).
The World Championships in Trondheim, Norway, from 25 Feb – 9 March, will be the key focus for many this season and result a temporary halt to the World Cup circuit.
After Oslo (13 March) athletes will head to another stunning Norwegian setting, Vikersund (15-16 March), before they travel to Lahti, Finland (22-23 March).
The season will conclude with individual, as well as team Ski Flying events in Planica, Slovenia (28-30 March).
WOMEN’S SEASON – IN BRIEF
Following the conclusion of the opening World Cup in Lillehammer, Norway, the women will reconvene at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games venue in Zhangjiakou, China (14-15 Dec), before a pre-Christmas stop at Engelberg, Switzerland (21-22 Dec).
The ‘Two Nights Tour’ will take place either side of the New Year in Germany with action in Garmisch-Partenkirchen (31 Dec) and Oberstdorf (1 Jan).
A busy January will see the best female ski jumpers in the world take on events in Villach, Austria (5-6 Jan), before the Japanese venues in Sapporo (18-19 Jan) and Zao (24-25 Jan) take centre stage.
They will take in a further four nations during February; Willingen, Germany (31 Jan – 1 Feb), Lake Placid, USA (7-8 Feb), Ljubno, Slovenia (15-16 Feb), Hinzenbach and Austria (22-23 Feb).
After the conclusion of the World Championships (25 Feb – 9 March) the World Cup circuit will head to Oslo and Vikersund in Norway (13-16 March) for the Raw Air competitions.
The World Cup Final will bring the women’s season to an end in Lahti, Finland (20-21 March).
FIS SKI JUMPING WORLD CUP – LILLEHAMMER (NOR) SCHEDULE
22.11.2024
16:15 – Mixed Team Competition commences
23.11.2024
11:00 – QUA Women’s LH
12:30 – WC Women’s LH
14:45 – QUA Men’s LH
16:00 – WC Men’s LH
24.11.2024
11:00 – QUA Women’s LH
12:30 – WC Women’s LH
14:45 – QUA Men’s LH
16:00 – WC Men’s LH
All times listed are CET.
SEASON PREVIEW FACTS & FIGURES
The 2024/25 FIS Ski Jumping World Cup season begins, for athletes of each gender, on 22 November, in Lillehammer, with the women’s competitions concluding in Lahti, Finland, on 23 March and the men’s in Planica, Slovenia, on 30 March.
Men competing in the 2024/24 FIS Ski Jumping World Cup will have the opportunity to contest 29 individual, two team and two super team competitions, as well as three mixed team competitions with their female counterparts.
Women competing in the 2024/24 FIS Ski Jumping World Cup will have the opportunity to contest 26 individual competitions as well as one super team and the three mixed team events – previously mentioned above – with their male counterparts.
Sara Takanashi (JAP) holds the record for individual World Cup victories with 63. Of those athletes still currently competing, Austrian duo Marita Kramer and Eva Pinkelnig, as well as Katharina Schmid (née Althaus) are the closest.
Stefan Kraft (AUT) is aiming to tie the record and become only the third man in history – after Matti Nykänen (FIN) and Adam Malysz (POL) – to claim the World Cup crystal globe for the fourth time.
