Ski jumping — Freitag gifts coach on his birthday, Prevc dominates in Villach

At the women's Ski Jumping World Cup in Villach on 5 January 2026 Slovenia's Nika Prevc was untouchable, delivering two excellent jumps to win the event and retake the overall World Cup lead. Austria's Lisa Eder finished second after a long 96.5 m jump in the second round that briefly threatened Prevc's victory. Japan's Nozomi Maruyama — the previous leader of the overall standings — was only eighth this time.

Germany celebrated a strong team result that doubled as a birthday present for national coach Heinz Kuttin, who turned 55. Selina Freitag (SG Nickelhütte Aue) continued her fine form and landed on the podium in Villach, improving on a recent second place in the "Two Nights Tour" and remarking afterwards that "it almost runs by itself". In the final she reached 94 metres (with a small landing wobble) and enjoyed the result.

Freitag's podium also delighted Kuttin personally: he lives near the Villach hill, has worked at the local Austrian training base and is a member of SV Villach, so the German team's performance was a special present on his birthday. Freitag had been fourth at the half-time break after a 91 m jump and noted that her coach's shortened inrun in the first round cost a bit of distance.

Other Germans also impressed: Agnes Reisch from the Allgäu region placed ninth after overcoming a previous crash and seeking to "make peace with the hill" ahead of her first Olympic start; Katharina Schmid was tenth. Juliane Seyfarth and Emely Torazza also scored World Cup points (25th and 28th respectively), with Seyfarth posting an 87 m second jump and looking ahead to the next competition.

The World Cup stop in Villach comes amid a busy period on the spring circuit. Prevc's win follows recent big results across the winter: she had earlier won the Two Nights Tour and now leads the overall standings again. The report also references other recent tournament action: Japanese Ren Nikaido's win at Innsbruck (which affected Domen Prevc's Four Hills ambitions) and continued highlights from the Vierschanzentournee.

Results summary (top finishers): - 1st: Nika Prevc (SLO) — winner and new overall World Cup leader - 2nd: Lisa Eder (AUT) - 3rd: Selina Freitag (GER)

Several related videos and full replays from Villach were published by Sportschau, and the article notes the broader World Cup and Vierschanzentournee context.