Norway's Anna Odine Stroem delivered an unexpected victory in the women's individual normal hill ski jumping at the 2026 Winter Olympics, defeating heavily favored Slovenian Nika Prevc by a narrow margin. The 27-year-old Norwegian's performance marked her first Olympic medal and Norway's first gold of the Games. Japan's Nozomi Maruyama took bronze in a competition held in Predazzo, Italy.
The event unfolded on February 7, 2026, in Predazzo, Italy, where Stroem outperformed expectations in the women's normal hill ski jumping. Prevc, a 20-year-old Slovenian sensation and reigning world champion on both normal and large hills, entered as the clear favorite after dominating the World Cup circuit for two seasons. However, her first jump measured 98.5 meters, below her trial run of 103.0 meters, which allowed Stroem to seize the lead with a 100.0-meter effort. The two were separated by just one point after style assessments, with a significant gap to the rest of the field.
Stroem, who has a strong background including bronze medals at the last two world championships, had broken a nearly three-year individual win drought with a World Cup victory in Wisla, Poland, two months prior. Facing pressure in the second round, Prevc responded with a 99.5-meter jump that impressed the judges technically. Undeterred, Stroem countered with a 101.0-meter leap—the longest tied in the competition—finishing with 267.3 points to Prevc's 266.2.
Upon completing her run, Stroem immediately approached Prevc, and the pair awaited the results together in a show of sportsmanship. This gold represents Norway's third medal of the Olympics, following a silver in speedskating and a bronze in cross-country skiing earlier that day. Maruyama, enjoying a breakout season with six World Cup triumphs after years outside the top 10, secured bronze via a 100.0-meter second jump.
Looking ahead, both Stroem and Prevc are set to compete in the women's large hill event on February 15, with Norway and Slovenia tipped as strong contenders in the team competition.
