Maruyama caps magical World Cup weekend with third Lillehammer win

Grand Prix champion Nozomi Maruyama (JPN) continued her stunning start to the 2025/26 FIS Ski Jumping season by completing an individual Lillehammer World Cup double. It was her third straight day on the top step in Norway after helping Japan to a landmark Mixed Team win on Friday and earning her maiden individual World Cup victory on Saturday.

On Sunday, Maruyama dominated with two superb jumps of 134 m and 133 m to total 283.6 points and win comfortably. “Yesterday's victory was harder; yesterday the conditions were much more difficult, the wind was stronger and very changeable, but I'm satisfied with my jumps,” she told FIS, adding she aims to improve her style marks further.

Norway’s Heidi Traaserud delivered the first World Cup podium of her career in second with 254.8 points, while Slovenia’s Nika Prevc, last season’s Crystal Globe winner and double world champion, finished third on 250.4. Seven‑time world champion and double Olympic silver medallist Katharina Schmid (GER) was fourth, her best individual result since Villach last January.

After Saturday’s tricky winds, the 67‑strong field enjoyed calmer conditions for Sunday’s qualifier and competition. Maruyama topped the morning qualification, with Saturday’s runner‑up Abigail Strate (CAN) second in qualifying but only 11th after the first round. Prevc, 15th on Saturday, rebounded with a 128 m jump to sit second at halfway, 16.8 points behind Maruyama’s leading 134 m opener.

Traaserud, fifth on Saturday, climbed to third at the break and then produced a composed second jump to take the lead with Prevc and Maruyama still to come. Prevc could not surpass the Norwegian’s total, leaving Maruyama needing only 117 m for victory; she emphatically sealed it with 133 m to complete her Lillehammer double.

Germany’s Selina Freitag, last season’s overall World Cup runner‑up, finished 21st after placing 19th on Saturday. Canada’s Strate rallied with a second‑round 131 m jump to finish fifth overall, while Finland’s 17‑year‑old Heta Hirvonen impressed in tenth.

Event: FIS Ski Jumping World Cup, Lillehammer (NOR).