The Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will feature the debut of the Women’s Large Hill Individual race on February 15, marking a historic milestone for female ski jumpers with more medal events than in any previous Games. Slovenian athlete Nika Prevc enters as the favorite after securing two medals already. Competition from Norway and Japan promises a tight contest.
The Women’s Large Hill Individual race at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics represents a significant step forward for the sport, introducing the event for the first time and increasing medal opportunities for women beyond previous editions. Scheduled for Sunday, February 15, in Predazzo, the competition begins with a trial round at 17:35 CET, followed by the main race at 18:45 CET.
Nika Prevc of Slovenia leads the World Cup standings and holds the world championship title. She has already earned a silver medal in the individual Normal Hill event and a gold in the Mixed Team alongside her brother Domen. Prevc reflected, “There is nothing better than sharing with my brother the most famous medal in the world.” During official training sessions, she won two of six rounds with jumps measuring 134 meters and 130.5 meters.
Challenging Prevc is Norway’s Anna Odine Stroem, who claimed gold in the Normal Hill ahead of Prevc and recorded a 136-meter jump on Thursday. Stroem’s teammate Eirin Maria Kvandal has shown strong form, topping training standings three times with jumps of 130 meters, 130.5 meters, and 132 meters. Kvandal recently secured double victories in the World Cup in Willingen, Germany, and noted, “The World Cup in Willingen was really fun, and it was nice to show that my best jumps are at the level that I can fight with the top girls.”
Japan’s Yuki Ito produced the longest training jump at 138 meters in the first round, followed by 134.5 meters and 131 meters. A four-time Olympian without prior medals, Ito placed 17th in the Normal Hill. Her teammates Sara Takanashi and Nozomi Maruyama, who contributed to Japan’s Mixed Team bronze, consistently ranked in the top 10 with jumps around 125 meters. Maruyama shared, “Usually I’m not nervous, but this time I was nervous because there were so many people here from Japan. But somehow I could use that nervousness and took it as a strength.”
Additional contenders include Sweden’s Frida Westman with jumps of 128 meters and 126 meters, Austria’s Lisa Eder who finished fourth in the Normal Hill, and Canada’s Abigail Strate with best efforts of 127 meters and 125.5 meters.
