Domen Prevc can seal the 2025-26 Ski Jumping World Cup overall title as early as Sunday, 2 March, when the post-Olympic series resumes on Kulm’s flying hill in Austria.
Prevc Returns With 245 m Record and 11 Wins
The 25-year-old from Slovenia landed in Kulm carrying twin gold medals from Milano-Cortina and every major honour the sport offers: world champion, Four Hills champion, Ski Flying champion and the world-distance mark of 245 m set at Planica last March. After 22 of 32 scheduled World Cups he has reached the podium 17 times and leads the standings by 250 points. A repeat of last weekend’s recipe—victory in both Kulm events while closest pursuer Ryoyu Kobayashi finishes lower than seventh on Sunday—would wrap up Prevc’s first big crystal globe before the tour leaves Europe.
Kulm Hill Stats and Prevc Family History
Kulm’s HS 235 structure drops jumpers onto a 32-degree slope that compresses flight time to roughly 5.4 seconds at peak distance. The venue record of 244 m has stood since Peter Prevc, Domen’s elder brother, set it during the 2016 Ski Flying World Championships. Technicians say a 10 km/h tail-wind window plus softened snow could put the record in play again, especially after Saturday’s forecast high pressure. “We set the in-run at 36.5°, five millimetres deeper than last year,” hill chief Markus Pock said Thursday. “The hill is built for something special if conditions line up.”
Japanese Duo and Lanisek Chase Podium Spots
Japan’s Ryoyu Kobayashi and Ren Nikaido arrive only 12 days after claiming Olympic Mixed-Team bronze and will split coaching cues from national staff at hill-side. Nikaido, 22, became the first Asian man to medal on three separate hills at one Games, yet has never stood on a Kulm World Cup podium; his best here is sixth in 2023. Prevc’s Slovenian team-mate Anže Lanišek warmed up by out-jumping the champion at the national championships Wednesday, landing 133 m and 135.5 m into a steady headwind. Lanišek, who turns 30 next month, sits fifth overall and needs roughly 180 points to overhaul Germany’s Philipp Raimund in fourth before the finals in Lahti.
Austria Gun for 300th World Cup Win
Austrian men have collected 299 individual World Cups—more than any nation—and could reach the historic 300 this weekend without Jan Hörl. The 24-year-old Super-Team gold-medallist withdrew Thursday after physiologists flagged a low-back stress reaction. That leaves Stefan Kraft, Manuel Fettner and Stefan Embacher to carry home hopes; Kraft won Kulm as recently as 2022. Coaches trimmed the A-squad to eight athletes, leaning on Bischofshofen winner Daniel Tschofenig for early points. A victory by any red-and-white jumper would also snap a four-year individual drought on Austrian snow.
Four-Session Schedule and Broadcast Windows
Competition begins Friday at 13:30 CET with a one-round qualification that seeds Saturday’s first World Cup. A second qualification Sunday at noon precedes the finale at 13:30, both broadcast live on ORF and SRG as well as via the Eurosport/Discovery digital bundle. Gates open at 10:00 daily; organisers expect 18,000 spectators per session under calm, partly cloudy skies and temperatures near –4 °C.
Useful Resources
- International Ski Federation (FIS) – Official results, start lists, and live scoring for every Ski Jumping World Cup event
- ORF Sport Plus – Austrian public-service stream carrying Kulm’s weekend coverage with English commentary toggle
- Ski Flying database – Historical hill records, wind readings, and athlete statistics dating back to 1950
- “Ski Jumping 365” newsletter – Free weekly email that breaks down technical rule changes and athlete fitness updates