Slovenia wins the first ever Olympic gold medal in ski jumping! Ursa Bogataj won the title of the champion in the individual competition natthe normal hill in Zhangjiakou (HS106), setting the hill record of 108 meters in the first round. The silver medal was won by Katharina Althaus, who was in the lead at the halfway point, and the bronze medal went to Nika Kriznar.
After the first competition round, Katharina Althaus was in the lead. The athlete from Germany made a jump of 105.5 meters. The second, 3.1 points behind the leader, was Ursa Bogataj, who set the hill record in Zhangjiakou with a flight of 108 meters. Right behind her were her teammates – third Nika Kriznar (103 m) and fourth Ema Klinec (100 m). Sara Takanashi (98.5 m) was fifth and Thea Minyan Bjoerseth (99.5 m) was sixth.
In the final, Ursa Bogataj attacked, soared to 100 meters and waited for the answer of Katharina Althaus. Halfway leader landed at 94 meters and thus the Slovenian, who had never won a World Cup competition, became the Olympic champion. As four years ago, the German won the silver medal with a loss of 2.2 points. The bronze medal was won by Nika Kriznar (99.5 m).
Sara Takanashi (100 m) finished just behind the Olympic podium before Ema Klinec (90.5 m) and Silje Opseth (95 m). Irina Awvakumova (89.5 m) was seventh, Lisa Eder (90 m) was eighth, Spela Rogelj (82 m) was ninth, and Irma Makhinia (90 m) finished the top ten.
The Olympic gold medal is the greatest success in Ursa Bogataj’s career. The almost 27-year-old athlete from Slovenia has never triumphed in a World Cup competition, and was twice second and five times third. She did better results at the FIS Grand Prix. In 2021, she won twice in Wisla, and was also the best in Courchevel and Chaikovsky.