Trondheim 2025: Ski Jumping Women-To-Watch

The best female ski jumpers from across the globe will aim to add to their array of Olympic, World, continental and national honors when they unite for the 44^th edition of the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, Trondheim 2025.

The 2024/25 World Cup has already delivered high-drama and now, between 27 February and 9 March fans in Norway, together with those watching remotely, will be treated to eight days of high-class ski jumping action. 

The form guide will give some indication of the names likely to be pushing for the podium, but as we have so often seen at previous editions of the World Championships, those dubbed pre-event ‘outside’ contenders can rise to become dominant winners.

In short, expect the unexpected, as athletes battle it out for seven ski jumping gold medals, on one of the most spectacular hills, in the country which gave birth to the sport.

Here FIS takes a look at some of the key female contenders, based on performances during both the 2024/25 Ski Jumping World Cup, as well as previous results at major championships.

Nika Prevc (SLO) – World Cup leader

The Slovenian superstar is looking to solidify her status as the strongest athlete in the field by landing her maiden senior World title at Trondheim 2025.

She claimed her first Crystal Globe last season after attaining 12 podium finishes, including seven victories, during the 2023/24 campaign.

So far in 2024/25, Prevc has effectively been peerless, defending her Two Nights Tour title, attaining 11 World Cup wins and a total of 15 top three finishes, giving her a near unassailable lead of 455 points in the overall standings.

The 19-year-old won gold medals at the 2022 and 2023 editions of the World junior championships and heads into the latest senior Worlds off the back of becoming only the second woman in history to win six successive World Cup events in a row.

Katharina Schmid (GER)
Seven-time World champion

The two-time Olympic silver medalist began the season in fine form, with three victories from the opening four World Cup events.

Her strong, podium finishing form would be maintained through to the World Cup Villach (AUT) in early January, where she finished first and second, however, then came the fall-off.

Schmid now heads to the World Championships on a surprising run of 12 events without an individual top-three placing.

There have been hints she could rediscover her best form with sporadic strong performances in qualifying over recent weeks, but the German is struggling with consistency.

Her impressive list of Olympic and World Championship honors though proves she is an athlete for the big occasion and if she can make the slight adjustments needed to gain those crucial extra meters – and points – Schmid could well be in the mix for medals again.

Selina Freitag (GER)
Two-time World champion

While Schmid has struggled, team-mate Frietag has been in fine form of late.

She too made a strong start to the 2024/25 campaign, with two podium finishes in the season opening event at Lillehammer (NOR), before a run of seven without a top-three result. 

A second in Sapporo in the middle of January was followed by fourth and third in Lake Placid in early February, before her best run of results which will see her head to Trondheim off the back of four successive second-place finishes.

The 23-year-old is still seeking her first individual World Cup victory, but has finished only marginally behind Prevc’s points haul of late, suggesting she has the potential to achieve that landmark solo success soon.

Jacqueline Seifriedsberger (AUT)
Two-time European champion

The 34-year-old is competing in her eighth and what could be her final World Championships, so it is only natural to assume she would dream of attaining the one medal which has so far eluded her at previous events – gold.

In fact, she has spoken about this ahead of Trondheim 2025, confirming to FIS that; “of course, this one is missing,” from her collection which includes four silver team silver medals and an individual Normal Hill bronze from the Worlds in 2013.

In the years since that first global honor she has impressively overcome three potentially career-ending knee injuries and is currently enjoying the third best season of her career, with four podium finishes, including victory in Zao (JPN), in January. 

She is likely to be among a group of athletes bidding for the ‘minor’ individual medals, but together with her Austrian colleagues, will be among the favourites for gold in the women’s Team event.

Eirin Maria Kvandal (NOR)
World and European team medalist

Her fifth-place ranking in the overall World Cup standings does not really give a full picture of her season, given the Norwegian has skipped several events in order to prioritise preparations for success at her home World Championships. 

In the post Maren Lundby (NOR) era, Norway is still seeking its next female star and Kvandal as emerged as the most likely successor, with five World Cup victories over the last two seasons and growing confidence across Normal and Large Hills across the globe.

Her performances, together with those of Johann Andre Forfang (NOR) in the men’s disciplines, are likely to be crucial to hopes of host-nation success at Trondheim 2025, with Norway’s team event prospects hit by injury withdrawals. 

Thea Minyan Bjoerseth and Halvor Egner Granerud, together with Silje Opseth and Kjersti Graesli, and have all been ruled out in recent weeks.

Kvandal will face a tough challenge to beat Prevc, given the Slovenian’s domination this season, but the Norwegian – along with Freitag – represents arguably her strongest rival.

“I’m excited to compete again and see how I’m standing compared to them (Prevc and Freitag),” Kvandal tells FIS. “I follow the competitions and I can see that their jumping is really good right now.”

Other Trondheim 2025 ones-to-watch:

Austria have enviable strength in depth in the women’s side of the sport with Eva Pinkelnig (AUT) and Lisa Eder (AUT) both seasoned medal-winners. 

Like team-mate Seifriedsberger (AUT), Pinkelnig could well be competing in her last World Championships and the 2022/23 Crystal Globe winner is also seeking a maiden senior gold at a Worlds.

In the absence of Bjoerseth, Anna Odine Stroem (NOR) is arguably the host nation’s next strongest contender and while the 26-year-old has had a ‘mixed’ 2024/25 campaign to date, it is worth remembering that she claimed individual NH bronze at the 2023 Worlds.

Her other five World Championship honors have come in team events and she hopes home support will enable her to finally claim a first World title.

It is worth reiterating again that World Cup results, past or present, is not always an indication of what may play out at the Worlds, with Ema Klinec (SLO) a good example to reference.

When the Slovenia became her nation’s first-ever female World champion in the sport, in 2021, she had yet to win a World Cup contest.

The two-time Youth Olympic gold medalist is without a podium finish since January, but she is a certain one-to-watch in both of the women’s individual events, as well as Slovenia’s Mixed Team line-up.

Alexandria Loutitt (CAN) claimed Olympic bronze as part of the Canadian line-up at Beijing 2022, but fully announced her major her arrival as an individual medal-threat during a stunning 2023 where she won both junior and senior individual World gold.

Her form this season has been ‘patchy’, but her focus has been on peaking for Trondheim 2025 and the defence of her LH crown and victory in Sapporo (JPN) in January proved the 21-year-old has the ability to repeat her historic achievements two years ago. 

“I was struggling a little bit with the timing, but also after traveling and time delay it’s sort of expected,” Loutitt told FIS after her first day of training in Trondheim.

“I’m now really looking forward to jumping in good physical shape and I’m just having fun because this a really cool experience of my third World Championships. I’m quite liking the profile of both of these hills and I’m looking forward to it.”

She is not the only Canadian to keep an eye out for though, with Abigail Strate (CAN) delivering a timely reminder of her ability via a third-place finish in Hinzenbach (AUT), in what was the final World Cup weekend before the World Championships.

Trondheim 2025 - FIS Nordic World Ski Championships (NOR) - Program:

27 February
20.30 – Start Qualification Women’s NH
28 February
14.00 – Competition Start Women’s NH
1 March
17.00 – Competition Start Women's Team NH
20.30 – Start Qualification Men’s NH
2 March
17.00 – Competition Start Men's NH

5 March
16.00 – Competition Start Mixed Team LH
6 March
16.20 – Competition Start Men's Team LH
20.30 – Start Qualification Women's LH
7 March
12.15 – Start Qualification Men's LH
16.15 – Competition Start Women's LH
8 March
15.45 – Competition Start Men's LH

*all times are displayed in Central European Time (CET) and are subject to change.