Japanese joy after season-opening Ski Jumping World Cup win

Japan opened the FIS Ski Jumping World Cup season in style, winning the Mixed Team event in Lillehammer (NOR). Led by reigning Olympic champion Ryoyu Kobayashi, the Japanese quartet of Nozomi Maruyama, Ren Nikaido and Yuki Ito compiled 1034.0 points to claim only the nation’s second World Cup victory in the Mixed Team format.

Japan finished 8.9 points ahead of long-time rivals Slovenia, the 2025 World Championship silver medallists. Slovenia’s lineup featured double World Champion and Crystal Globe winner Nika Prevc, who improved from 123.5 m in the first round to 136.5 m in the second to cut Japan’s lead to just 1.4 points before the final jumps. Strong efforts from Timi Zajc and Nika Vodan followed, but 2025 Large Hill World Champion Domen Prevc could not overturn the deficit with the last attempt.

Austria took third place, just 1.2 points behind Slovenia, despite the absence of men’s Crystal Globe winner Daniel Tschofenig. The Austrian team—Julia Muehlbacher, Stefan Kraft, Lisa Eder and Jan Hoerl—produced a strong finish to edge last season’s Lillehammer winners Germany off the podium.

Yuki Ito admitted to nerves but praised the team’s spirit: she said a tough summer contrasted with teammates’ strong performances, giving Japan confidence for the winter and motivation ahead of the individual events. Domen Prevc said he feels in form and focused after his world-record 254.5 m jump last season, emphasizing perseverance over recent years. Germany’s Philipp Raimund, coming off a FIS Summer Grand Prix title, noted the different pressures of winter competition and plans to build results steadily.

The Lillehammer World Cup program continues with women’s and men’s individual large hill events over the weekend, with qualification and competitions scheduled on both Saturday and Sunday (all times CET).